


The Abandoned: Knowledge

by OBTheAbandoned



Series: The Abandoned [2]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen, Season 1 Parallel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-08-16 17:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 102,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8110597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OBTheAbandoned/pseuds/OBTheAbandoned
Summary: "Every time we think we know something, we soon find out we're wrong. Trust me when I say you don't want to know every last detail. People have died. More people will die." Now split up, Aila, Rat, and Leigh must work against threats from all directions to unravel the clone mystery. Knowledge is vital to survive, as one wrong move could mean failure to escape DYAD for good.





	1. Prologue

Leigh Callingham forgave her sister three times since returning to London. Her sister, Rachel, knew that Leigh would forgive her again in the future.

Leigh was _angry_. Despite finding it in her heart to forgive Rachel for the things she'd done, the auburn-haired hairdresser was angry, even weeks, even _months_ later. Rachel had to wonder why. Was Leigh angry with Rachel still, or was she angry at herself for giving in and forgiving her sister? Was it both?

Whatever the case, Rachel Duncan was not pleased. Leigh's anger drove her to extremes to ensure her twin did not attempt to run off again, or break the deal she'd arranged with herself and Doctor Leekie.

That was how it all started, Rachel realised. Leigh came home in October, in a disturbing and concerning way, and she'd been angry ever since. It was a side of her Rachel had never seen before, and the proclone convinced herself over and over none of it was her doing.

No. Leigh had been in danger. She'd put _herself_ in danger, and Rachel was forced to take drastic measures to bring her back. Leigh would realise that in time.

It was Leigh's anger that convinced her to stay and come to an agreement with DYAD. The conversation between Leigh, Rachel and Leekie stuck in Rachel's mind for a long time.

“You separated me from my sister because a woman named Amelia disappeared; the woman who was supposed to give her child up to the Duncans,” Leigh had told a very exasperated Leekie while Rachel watched and listened in intrigue. “You _never_ learned what became of that child. Isn't it a possibility that Helena _is_ that child?”

“That doesn't add up,” Leekie said, shaking his head.

“Well do your research, because it's the truth,” Leigh shot at him. “Track down Helena and stop _her_ instead of my friends. They'll have _no_ reason to meet other clones and alert them to the dangers then, will they? This was never about ruining your experiments! It was about saving lives, and with Helena out of the picture-”

“There's still the issue of the illness though,” Leekie growled. “I am fully aware they will still go to great lengths to tackle this illness; to save lives, as you put it – and that _still_ means meeting other subjects. I _cannot_ allow that to happen, Ashleigh. Your claims of this Helena character may or may not be true, but even if it is proven, it doesn't change a thing. So I'm going to ask you something, and I expect you to consider your answer _very_ carefully.” Leekie held Leigh's gaze, pausing to allow this subtle warning to sink in. “Are you going to co-operate, or not?”

Of course Leigh wasn't going to co-operate; not in the way Leekie wanted her to. It took Rachel great effort not to lose her cool and demand that Leigh do as she was told. She'd done all she'd done because she wanted Leigh safe, but Leigh's anger and stubborness and refusal to follow orders would cause that to be in vain if she wasn't careful.

Rachel Duncan wanted her sister around. And Rachel Duncan _always_ got what she wanted.

“Might I have a word, Aldous, in private?” Rachel asked before Leigh even opened her mouth to say she wasn't going to do what was asked of her. The blonde clone stood gracefully from her seat and elegantly left the room, not even bothering to check the doctor was following her.

The two of them left Leigh sitting alone to fume at the table in the isolated room. They stood outside the door; Leekie glancing through the glass every so often as if worried Leigh might disappear.

“I would like very much to take her home now,” Rachel stated evenly in a commanding voice. “It is clear she is in no fit state to come to terms.”

Leekie stared at Rachel. His brow furrowed. He did not approve.

“She is not _going_ anywhere, Aldous,” Rachel tried her best to convince him. “She has returned to where she belongs. She has agreed to stay put, and she has given us _some_ information.”

“You honestly think all she said about this Helena character is the _truth?_ ” Leekie asked, gob-smacked.

Rachel kept her unblinking gaze on Leekie's face, thinking silently for a moment while she chose careful words. “I believe it is worth looking into, Aldous.”

Leekie faltered. The more he thought about it, the more he realised what a waste of an opportunity it would be if he let this go uninvestigated. He'd been searching for the missing clone originally meant for the Duncans for _years_. Besides, Leigh had obviously learned and discovered a great deal on her journey. Who was to say there was no truth in what she said? Perhaps Rachel was right. Perhaps the hairdresser needed more time and persuasion before Leekie tried to pry more information from her.

“Fine,” he growled in agreement. “But I want her observed, full-time. I'll arrange for Denby to pick up his role as monitor again. Until then, she's to stay here.”

Rachel was extremely affronted, and quite annoyed. “I want to take her _home_ ,” she said loudly and sternly.

Leekie wasn't having it. “I'm sorry Rachel, but I have to put my foot down with this one.”

Rachel was quite sure she'd only seen and heard Leekie this serious and strict when she was a child, but even then she'd been able to get her way if she threw enough of a tantrum. However...sometimes it just was not worth it. Rachel knew when to choose her battles, and this was not one of them.

She was far too tired for that anyway, after the exhausting events surrounding Leigh's return.

Leigh was led to another room after that, though it might as well have been a cell as far as she was concerned. Rachel sat with her for a while, despite Leigh fully ignoring her. It irked Rachel _a lot_. Here she was trying to explain that Leigh had done the right thing by coming back, and she was now in the best place for Rachel to protect her, and Leigh wasn't even _listening_.

A doctor soon came to examine Leigh one last time (on Leekie's orders), and Rachel stood up to leave. Leigh had won this round, and Rachel hated it, but she wasn't going to give up so easily. She _would_ make Leigh listen sooner or later.

She wanted to say goodnight before leaving, but there was little point if Leigh was just going to blank her. She would spare herself the humiliation of being ignored by her sister in front of the lesser being who had just arrived.

Instead, Rachel watched her sister sadly for a moment or two before leaving the room. “Doctor Nealon,” she greeted the man who had come to examine Leigh.

“Miss Duncan,” he grunted in response, nodding his head. He waited until Rachel disappeared before carefully closing the door and turning his attention to Leigh.

“Now what?” Leigh spat at him, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Good evening, Ashleigh,” the man said, taking a step or two towards her. “My name is Doctor Nealon. I'm required to examine you this evening.”

Leigh stared. “ _Again?_ I already had a load of tests done earlier on,” she told him bluntly. “Why are you lot checking me so frequently? There's nothing _wrong_ with me.”

Nealon nodded, but he still walked closer to Leigh, pulling something from his pocket. Leigh's eyes grew wide as the light caught the sharp point of a needle glittering in Nealon's hand.

“We have every confidence that you are fit and well,” Nealon assured her. Leigh couldn't help shrinking back a bit as the doctor raised the needle to her arm.

“Shit!” she squeaked, trying to jump up, but Nealon seized her and held her in place in her seat. His grip was tight on her arm.

“Now hold still, please,” he requested. Leigh shuddered and squirmed, feeling extremely uneasy at the politeness in Nealon's voice, even as he pushed the needle into Leigh's skin and injected whatever substance was in it.

“What the hell did you give me?” Leigh demanded, horrified.

“Nothing to worry about,” Nealon told her. He stood up and crossed the room to leave, pausing at the door to smile falsely over his shoulder. “Something to help you sleep. Try to relax. You must be very tired.”

Nealon was gone in a heartbeat, leaving Leigh infuriated and alone in the small, cramped room. What on earth had just happened? Wasn't Nealon supposed to examine her? That was what he _said_ he'd do, but...but...

Leigh's thoughts soon became clouded and disconnected, and it didn't take long for her to shift over to the hard bed in the corner. The moment she hit it, dizziness overcame her, and she was out cold in an instant.

The next thing Leigh remembered was waking up in that very same spot, with agonising pain searing through the back of her neck. It became more intense when she sat up straight and instinctively raised her hand to touch the skin behind her hair. The area was sore and wounded, and her fingertips touching it made her flinch and rip her hand away instantly. Had something bitten her? However unappealing this room was, it was still extremely clean and well-kept. There was always the chance of insects of some kind making their way in though...

But still...a mix of paranoia and instinct warned Leigh to be on alert. She couldn't help it by now. It was a feeling in her gut she couldn't ignore.

“What did they do to me?” Leigh hissed at Rachel later that day. The proclone had come to see Leigh home personally. Rachel just stared blankly at her sister, apparently confused. Leigh wasn't in the mood for this. “Oh never mind; can I _go_ now?”

“Yes,” Rachel told her. “Daniel awaits us outside in the car. We shall escort you back to your house.”

A sick feeling settled in Leigh's stomach at the mention of Daniel's name, mixed with a fresh volt of anger. A look of disgust flashed across her tired face, and it didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.

“ _Please_ do not make this more difficult than it needs to be,” Rachel insisted. “I am trying to make this as easy as possible.”

Leigh resisted a sarcastic laugh and suppressed a sigh, too fed up to fight this and eager to get home. She stepped out of the room and waited for Rachel to close the door and lead her out of the building. Rachel walked briskly, and Leigh struggled to keep up with her. _How_ Rachel could move so efficiently in those stupid heels was something Leigh would never understand.

“Why'd they have to keep me here another night?” Leigh demanded to know as she and Rachel rounded the corner of a corridor.

Rachel allowed herself a glance in Leigh's direction before answering. “We were making arrangements for you. Your monitor has been reinstated.”

Leigh's eyes grew wide. “ _Michael?_ ”

“Yes.”

Leigh swore under her breath. It had been months since she was under the observation of a monitor, and while she was travelling Europe, Leigh often wondered what had become of Michael Denby. Had he been punished for failing to keep an eye on her and letting her run off as she did? Surely whatever happened wasn't _that_ severe; not if he was being made to watch Leigh again now.

Leigh wanted to ask more about him, but she was still angry with Rachel, and she didn't want to talk to her unless it was absolutely necessary. She would talk to Michael in person soon enough.

A black car sat parked outside the DYAD building, gleaming in the bright sunlight. It was a surprisingly warm day for October, although Leigh barely paid attention to the warmth that greeted her as she unwillingly approached the car. Her attention was fixed on the man standing before it. She hadn't yet met the monster responsible for torturing her closest friend, but Leigh knew this was him.

“Good morning, Ashleigh,” he greeted her with a smug smile.

Leigh could only glare at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face for the pain he'd caused Aila. “Daniel,” she said curtly instead, fists clenched tightly.

Daniel's smirk grew wider as he stepped aside to open the back door of the car. He gestured for Leigh to get in. Leigh waited, deliberately taking her time to move to annoy both Daniel and Rachel, before finally complying and climbing into the car. She budged up to the other side to make room for Rachel, while Daniel took the driver's seat.

The car ride through London was mostly silent and awkward, until Rachel shifted her gaze from the window to look at Leigh.

“I would much prefer you to come home with _me,_ ” she told Leigh straight. Leigh whipped around to stare furiously at Rachel. “There will be no need for Michael to monitor you then.”

Leigh shook her head in disbelief. “You _must_ be joking. There's no way in _hell_ I'm living with you after what you did. And to be frank, I'd rather go back in the cell at DYAD than live under the same roof as _that_ sick bastard,” she hissed. She glanced to the front of the car. Daniel's glaring eyes narrowed into slits in the reflection of the windscreen mirror.

Rachel was not pleased, but she decided not to push the issue for now.

When they arrived at Leigh's house, the hairdresser wasted no time throwing herself out of the car and rushing to the front door. Rachel stepped out of the vehicle too, and walked around to the driver's side. “Wait here, Daniel,” she instructed her monitor, and she turned on her heel and caught up to Leigh before Daniel could respond.

Rachel took Leigh's house keys from her bag and unlocked the door. Leigh burst into the house instantly, paying little to no attention to the cold stillness the place gave out, instead making her way up the stairs to her bedroom. The house was very dusty, having been abandoned for so many months, but everything appeared exactly as she'd left it. She instantly found a round mirror with a handle on her bedside cabinet, picked it up, and rushed to the much larger mirror on the wall. Leigh stood with her back to it, held the smaller mirror up to her face, and pushed back the hair covering the back of her neck.

“ _Fuck._ ”

Her neck was a violent shade of red, and there was definitely some kind of wound there. It felt as though she'd been bitten or cut somehow, and it looked as though it would scar.

Rachel appeared at Leigh's bedroom door, looking curious as to what her sister was doing. Leigh almost jumped at Rachel's sudden arrival.

“What on earth are you doing?” Rachel asked her.

“None of your business,” Leigh snapped.

Rachel had already caught a glimpse of bright red in Leigh's reflection, and she rushed at Leigh as it dawned on her what had happened. She ignored Leigh's angry protests and swearing, instead focusing on parting Leigh's hair so she could see the damage.

Rachel knew instantly what had caused this, and a revolting numbness hit her. She found herself unable to focus as Leigh span around, demanded her house keys back and told Rachel to leave.

Rachel simply handed Leigh the keys and saw herself out of the house. She knew she should wait for Michael to get here. She knew Leigh shouldn't be left alone, but she couldn't bring herself to care much in that moment. Leigh wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to run off...

In any case, Rachel found herself battling to keep cool and calm and composed as Daniel drove her back to the DYAD building. How dare Leekie. How dare he order for such a thing to be done? Leigh was _not_ an animal; she was not below Leekie; she was not below _anyone_ at DYAD; she was _Rachel Duncan's sister_ , and that meant she was above everyone and everything, and Rachel would absolutely make Leekie pay for committing such a degrading act against the one person Rachel viewed as her equal-

Rachel's maddening thoughts cleared themselves from her mind when she realised she was standing before Leekie in his office; her body having gone into auto-pilot to bring her here. She had every intention of confronting Leekie, and demanding to have the procedure reversed...but this would, again, prove to be one of those rare instances where Rachel didn't get her way.

“I didn't see we had a choice,” Leekie told her bluntly. “In any case, we needed a test subject for the device. Ashleigh was the perfect candidate.”

Rachel was so angry she couldn't even speak. She refused to lash out physically, though. That would be unacceptable, irrational behaviour.

“I'd have thought you'd be all for this, Rachel,” Leekie continued. He tilted his laptop screen to show Rachel something. A map of London was present, and the doctor was able to zoom in on specific locations. A red dot was visible on Leigh's home street. Leekie smiled up at Rachel. “It's working quite well.”

“I can see that,” Rachel hissed.

“This is best for everyone involved. Use this to your advantage, Rachel.”

Rachel was all too used to embracing the sick and twisted ways the world of DYAD had to offer, so it didn't take long for her to accept what had happened and use it to her advantage as Leekie advised her, as she did with everything else. She could ignore the guilt. She was the master of that by now.

Rachel demanded to have the software installed on her own laptop, as well as her phone. As the days rolled by, she found herself growing rather addicted to the phone, always taking it out and launching the app to watch the progress of the red dot. She noticed Leigh barely left her house. Even weeks later, the hairdresser didn't seem to want to move, and any updates from Michael showed nothing of great importance.

In fact, Rachel found herself to be rather concerned by Leigh's lack of enthusiasm to go anywhere or do anything.

Meanwhile, Leigh had been slowly readjusting to life at home. It never occurred to her before just how quiet it was here. She missed Aila, Katja and Rat terribly, and she often asked herself if she'd done the right thing.

No. She had to have done the right thing. She'd given DYAD a distraction by turning herself in. The others would be well away by now. They would be safe.

It didn't stop Leigh wishing she could make contact though, just to ease her concerns and to be sure they were all doing well. She knew better than that though. Michael had upped his game. He was a lot more serious than Leigh remembered him, and he kept a much closer eye on the things Leigh got up to now.

He told her he'd faced backlash following Leigh's disappearance, and DYAD finally got him the help he needed because of it. Leekie blamed Michael's herion addiction as the distraction from his monitor duties, but Michael was much too involved to toss out and send to prison, or any other rehab facility. He was told he'd have another chance if he could kick his habit for good.

Leigh had to admit that Michael looked a lot healthier than the last time she saw him, and she _did_ feel bad for leaving him to face the consequences. At times, it felt as though Michael was the only one around who Leigh didn't feel angry with, however ironic and backwards that was. She trusted him. He'd always been her friend, monitor or not, and that was because she had nothing to hide from DYAD before. It was the same now she'd come home. As long as she didn't speak about her clone sisters or try to make contact, Michael was not a danger.

But Leigh craved distraction. She'd had enough of sitting in her house, staring out of windows and torturing herself with thoughts of the other clones, and she knew she had to make an effort to get back to normality. If she didn't, DYAD would win.

“Let's go out,” she said to Michael the next time she saw him.

“Out?” Michael repeated, surprised.

“Yeah,” Leigh told him. “You can take me out to dinner or we can go clubbing like we used to.”

Michael faltered, eyebrows raised in suspicion. Whenever he and Leigh had gone out, they'd always been in the company of other friends. He'd never gone out alone with Leigh. “You mean like a...like a date?” he dared to ask.

Leigh managed a small smile. There was a time she wouldn't dream of dating a drug addict, but Michael was clean, and Leigh had changed a lot. She wasn't sure she cared much either way anymore. “Yeah. Why not?”

Michael was perplexed at Leigh's sudden desire to do such things, and he briefly wondered if she was up to something. However, he didn't enjoy the miserable side of the hairdresser he was getting used to seeing. Wherever Leigh had been; whatever she'd been up to on her little adventure, it'd drained the soul out of her. Michael would indulge Leigh if it made her happy again.

He took Leigh to a fancy restaurant, and it was the first time the two of them had been able to properly catch up. They talked all through dinner, and the more Leigh drank, the further her worries forced themselves to the back of her mind. This was exactly what she needed.

Leigh had to admit she was glad to leave the restaurant when they finished eating, having decided it was much too sophisitcated for her. She wondered for a moment if Daniel took Rachel to such places on a regular basis, and she let out a forced laugh to picture the two of them in the much rougher, louder, dance club scene.

The club was quite a few miles away, but Michael didn't mind driving. He joked later that he and Leigh would have to get the bus or a taxi home, since they seemed to drink beyond their limit as they danced the night away.

“Let's go back to yours,” Leigh giggled mischievously as she and Michael left the club.

When they rounded the corner to a deserted back alley outside the club, Michael turned to face her, stunned. “What? Are you serious?”

“You saying you don't want me?” Leigh dared him arrogantly.

Truthfully, the two saw each other as friends, but they were both very drunk, and drunken mistakes were a common occurance. Michael stepped closer to Leigh, pressed her back against the brick wall of the club and kissed her fiercely. Leigh kissed him back, neither of them breaking away for a while.

Michael let out a sharp gasp a short time later and pulled away from Leigh. Leigh's eyes snapped open. Michael's eyes were wide, and he appeared to be struggling to breathe; his hand clamped firmly on his neck.

Leigh opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but Michael swayed and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. A figure dressed in dark clothes stood behind him, and Leigh noticed it instantly.

The other woman pulled back her hood, a syringe clearly displayed in her hand. Even in her drunken state, Leigh's anger flared up at the mere sight of her.

“What the bloody hell are you _doing?_ ” she snarled at Rachel, who delicately put the syringe away out of sight.

Rachel's eyes swept downwards to look at Michael in disgust. Then she quickly looked back up at Leigh. “Preventing you from making a terrible mistake.”

Leigh shook her head, bending down as if wanting to help Michael sit up. She knew he was too heavy for her to lift though. “You are _unbelievable!_ ” Leigh shouted at her sister. “You have no right to decide who I can and can't go out with!”

“Oh please,” Rachel scorned, fighting very hard not to roll her eyes. “You are far too intoxicated to be thinking clearly, so I am forced to do that for you. You do _not_ want to make the mistake of sleeping with a drug addict.”

Leigh stood up, fuming and trembling slightly. “And _you're_ much better, are you?” she demanded, her voice far too loud. “Sleeping with a sick psycopath like _Daniel?_ ”

Rachel became very still. Leigh forgot how unnerving and deadly her sister looked when she decided to be a robot like this. “I am not sleeping with Da-”

“Oh don't _bullshit me_ , Rachel!” Leigh interrupted her. “It's _so_ obvious! The point is, this is _my_ life and I'll do whatever _I_ want! But you don't see it that way because you're such a _fucking control freak-_ ”

“ _Leigh,_ ” Rachel said sternly, growing increasingly annoyed at Leigh's behaviour.

“How the hell did you even know I was _here?_ ”

Rachel didn't answer. To Leigh's annoyance, she simply took out her phone and called for assistance, and before Leigh knew it, she and Michael were put in a car to be driven home. She couldn't remember much else, her head clouded and hurting quite a bit from the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, but she did remember being back in her house with Rachel there with her. Rachel must have stayed all night, because she was still there when Leigh awoke the next morning.

It took a few moments for Leigh to remember what happened. She stumbled out of bed and clumsily made her way downstairs, where Rachel sat perfectly still on Leigh's sofa with a cup of warm tea in her hands.

Leigh stared at her. “What did you do with Michael?” she demanded.

Rachel refused to talk until Leigh agreed to sit with her on the sofa, much to Leigh's annoyance. The hairdresser sat down and reluctantly accepted the tea Rachel forced into her hands.

“You will not see Michael again,” Rachel stated.

Somehow, Leigh wasn't surprised to hear this, but it didn't stop her resenting Rachel because of it. “What did you _do_ with him?” she asked again.

“You must understand that Michael's recovery is not a smooth one, and he constantly relapses,” Rachel explained slowly, her even gaze burning into Leigh. “I can provide proof from DYAD if you require it. I do not want him monitoring you. I never _did_ want him monitoring you, and I certainly don't want you getting involved with him.”

Rachel wasn't sure what to make of the look on Leigh's face, but she meant every word she said. _This_ was one of the things Rachel chose to fight against until she got her way. In any case, she had the power to overrule Leekie if she so wanted. She simply had to be careful when chosing what to overrule him on.

“What did you do with him?” Leigh asked her sister a third time, impatience creeping into her voice now.

Rachel averted her gaze to her lap, resisting a sigh. “That is not your concern. I can assure you he is safe and will serve DYAD in other ways. You will be assigned a new monitor...one _without_ a drug habit.”

Leigh didn't know what to think or feel about this. Poor Michael. He was just another victim forever bound to serve DYAD, and now Leigh couldn't even help him. He'd been her _friend_ , and she felt as though she'd let him down.

“Tell me where he is, or I will bloody well track him down myself,” Leigh hissed, slamming her tea onto the coffee table before her. “I want to say goodbye to him.”

“That's not possible,” Rachel told her.

Leigh's eyes narrowed, and she shot up from the sofa to go and get changed. “You can't _do_ this, Rachel. I'll find out where he is. You just watch.”

“You _can't_ ,” Rachel insisted, sounding slightly alarmed and panicked now. She stood up quickly, but faltered, apparently unsure of what else to say. “You shall put yourself at risk by doing so,” she decided on.

Leigh froze half way up the stairs and stared down at her sister over the banister. “ _What?_ ”

Rachel closed her eyes, and breathed. She knew what she was about to reveal would cause great distress, but it was the only way to ensure that Leigh didn't do anything stupid.

It was that morning that Leigh learned DYAD had inserted a chip inside of her, allowing her movements to be traced. It explained the pain in her neck, the scar on her skin, and how Rachel always seemed to know exactly where she was. Leigh thought she might be sick. Was _nothing_ in her life going to go unobserved from now on? How could Rachel possibly see fit to allow DYAD to do this to her own sister?

Leigh's anger was unreal. There was more shouting, more demands for explanations, and more desperate, but vain attempts from Rachel to convince Leigh she was unaware Leekie would go to such extremes. Leigh had to be calm and rational about this now, because if she wasn't, she would put herself in danger. She needed to prove she could be trusted, or the chip was there to stay.

“I absolutely _do not approve_ of what they did to you,” Rachel insisted before leaving the house. “But while you continue to display such _irrational anger_ , I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help. I will ask you one last time to come home with me so I might make our situation easier to deal with. There will be no need for monitors. There will be no need to track your movements through that... _thing._ ”

Leigh was far too upset to think straight, so she slammed shut the door the moment Rachel left the house. She locked it quickly and held back a violent sob, sinking to the floor.

Did Rachel _really_ think she could take on the role of Leigh's monitor _herself?_ Or did she simply expect Daniel to monitor them both? Whatever the case, Leigh was not willing to allow that to happen.

Michael stayed on Leigh's mind for a while, even after she was introduced to her new monitor. His name was Shaun Harwood, and he was quite a bit older than Michael and Leigh. He was tall and broad with thick dark hair, and a stern expression. Rachel and Leekie made it clear to Leigh that she was to be observed full-time by Shaun if she refused to reside with her sister.

At first, Leigh insisted she didn't care, but the presence of Shaun began wearing her down quickly. She didn't like being followed everywhere by the stranger; she didn't like him being in her house; she didn't like talking to him, and it was clear he didn't think much of Leigh either...and she _hated_ him staying in _her house_ over night...how Rachel managed to put up with Daniel like this was beyond Leigh.

Rachel thought Leigh was being melodramatic. She never _could_ cope with such routine things as well as Rachel could...but this was something else. Her little mission to save the other subjects had changed Leigh drastically. It made her paranoid. It made her restless. Why was Shaun required to watch her around the clock anyway? She was already chipped; it wasn't as though she'd be able to _go_ anywhere she shouldn't without them knowing.

“The microchip does not tell DYAD the things you are _doing,_ ” Shaun explained one evening after Leigh threw a fit over it. He spoke in a deep, slow, British voice, full of sarcasm and annoyance. “It only alerts them to your whereabouts. I thought you ought to _know_ that.”

Leigh hated the way Shaun talked down to her, as though she was a stupid little girl with no common sense. His remarks were always snide and uncalled for, but Leigh found herself having great fun ordering him around. That was one good thing Rachel had done for her. Just as Daniel worked for Rachel, Shaun was instructed to carry out whatever tasks Leigh asked of him (within reason, of course). Rachel herself had made that very clear.

“Go buy me a crate of beer,” Leigh ordered him one November evening as she lazed on the sofa. “The expensive stuff I had the other day. Not the cheap crap.”

Shaun stood very still and glared at Leigh as he often did when he found her to be completely insufferable. “That means having to drive across the city to purchase it,” he stated.

“Yeah, exactly,” Leigh shot at him.

Shaun was not happy, but he was a man of DYAD, and men of DYAD did not disobey orders lightly. If he refused to serve Leigh, Rachel Duncan would hear about it. He did not want to have to deal with that, and Leigh knew it.

It was for this reason that Leigh was able to forgive Rachel for issuing her with a new monitor. She still wished she had a chance to apologise to Michael and say goodbye, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised Michael was probably better off without her. He did not deserve to be dragged into this more than he already had been. Whatever he was doing now, it had to be better than dealing with crazy clones and their even crazier creators.

Leigh often took the chance to leave the house whenever she sent Shaun off on an errand. She'd usually wander the streets, just trying to clear her head, until she found one particular place to sit and reflect in peace.

Rachel was aware of this. The church around the corner from Leigh's house would have been deserted if it wasn't for Rachel making her way across the grounds towards the large wooden doors. If the proclone was honest with herself, something about these buildings made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She'd entered one once, a long time ago, when her parents lived, to attend a wedding, or a Christening – she couldn't remember which. Even while growing up, seeing anything remotely related to churches or religion of any kind irked her. Something about the atmosphere felt wrong to Rachel. Not that she ever told anyone that...

And yet, here she was forcing herself towards the ominous building by herself at nightfall. She briefly wondered if it was even open...if anyone was really here...but they had to be. Leigh was here. She _knew_ Leigh was here, or Rachel wouldn't have come at all.

Sure enough, Leigh's silhouette caught Rachel's attention immediately upon entering the church. Rachel expected the door to creak open, but it was almost silent. Leigh sat at the front of the church on the first bench to the right, staring at the stained glass windows before her. Rachel forced herself to focus on Leigh. The dim lighting, scent of incense, and overall foreboding vibe the place gave out could _not_ put Rachel off. She was not so weak.

She kept her eyes on Leigh, even when she reached her; even when Leigh realised she was not alone and almost jumped out of her skin in surprise and stared fearfully at her sister. The hairdresser took a calming breath, but Rachel spoke before she could.

“Why are you here? You are not religious.”

Leigh didn't like the way Rachel's voice cut into the perfect silence around them. She didn't want to disrupt it further with her own voice, either. She turned away from Rachel to look at the large, coloured windows once more.

“I can hear myself think in here,” Leigh spoke softly. “I'd ask how you knew I was here, but that'd be a stupid question.”

Rachel didn't miss the biting tone to Leigh's voice. She watched the hairdresser automatically raise her hand to rub the back of her neck. “I can only apologise so many times,” Rachel said stiffly.

Leigh forced a smile. She still didn't look away from the windows. “Yet you still use it to your advantage.”

“It's not like that,” Rachel insisted. “I was...concerned.”

“Sure,” Leigh responded.

Silence fell between them. Rachel eventually willed herself to step towards Leigh to sit down next to her. She fit perfectly in the gap between Leigh and the edge of the bench, wondering if Leigh might budge up to make room...but Leigh stayed where she was. She would never admit it, but she welcomed the warmth Rachel brought with her. The church was cold, especially when Leigh was alone.

“You've been coming here often,” Rachel stated after a while.

Leigh nodded. “Yeah. I was...passing, one day, and I just...”

“Found comfort in _God?_ ” Rachel guessed, arching an eyebrow.

Leigh gave a subtle frown. She wasn't in the mood for Rachel's mocking, disapproving comments. “I wouldn't say _that_ , exactly,” she told Rachel sternly. “No...like I said, I...I just needed _space_ , OK? Somewhere to go to get away from...from being watched, constantly. It's quiet here, and I can just... _think_. Not that I have to explain myself to you.”

Rachel watched Leigh carefully. She knew it made sense. Even when Leigh went back to her own house, she was being watched now Shaun was there to stay. She did not have the opportunity to be completely alone anymore, but a part of Rachel thought Leigh was melodramatic and petty for feeling so down about it. It wasn't _that_ bad. Rachel had put up with such things most of her life, and she hadn't kicked up a fuss when Daniel was assigned to her. She just wished Leigh would get a grip and learn to manipulate such situations to her advantage, like Rachel had.

But Leigh was a very angry woman these days, so Rachel wasn't going to tell her that. Leigh's stubbornness was irritating, but Rachel didn't want to push her away more than she had already.

“It is unnerving,” Rachel spoke. She wasn't sure she wanted to admit this out loud. “This place.”

Leigh turned sharply to look at her. “Is it? I don't think so.”

“I feel as though we're being watched more than ever when we are in here,” Rachel explained.

Leigh frowned deeply in confusion before she understood. Then she raised her eyebrows slightly. “Are you scared of God?” she asked quietly.

Rachel shook her head instantly and averted her gaze. Leigh didn't fail to notice her sister's entire body tense at the mention of the word. “No,” Rachel insisted. “It's...”

She couldn't find the words to speak. Leigh just stared at her, feeling more confused. _Was_ Rachel scared of God? Of being judged, being damned for all she'd done, and for the possible consequences that could come from it? No; that was daft. She was _Rachel Duncan._ She was far too smart and logical and superior to even allow these thoughts to cross her mind; to even _believe_ in such things. Both Leigh _and_ Rachel were of that opinion...but Leigh wondered for a moment if they were kidding themselves.

Leigh stood quickly and made to leave the church. Rachel went after her. The thought of being left alone in such a place was daunting, and she was more relieved to see Leigh leaving than she'd admit. They stayed quiet until they were back out on the street. The evening was silent and calm.

“I just _thought,_ ” Leigh continued when it became apparent that Rachel was going to say nothing else, “that maybe I'd give a place like this a go, since I can't seem to find peace anywhere else.”

“Least of all with me,” Rachel murmured, not meeting Leigh's gaze.

A pause followed. Leigh sighed, stopped walking and stood in front of Rachel. Rachel hesitated. She took a step towards her sister. “You needn't come _here_ of all places to seek...to seek whatever it is you're seeking. I assure you you'd be quite safe with me, if you'd just...come home with me.”

“Would I?” Leigh asked with a forced laugh.

“I've always wanted you safe, Leigh. You just fail to understand that,” Rachel almost whispered.

Leigh shook her head, frowning once more. “You don't even feel safe _yourself,_ ” she snapped now, causing Rachel to look up in alarm. “You never have.”

“You don't know what you're talking about,” Rachel tried to argue, but Leigh roughly grabbed Rachel's wrist and forced it up to the back of her own neck behind her hair. Rachel felt the small scar on Leigh's skin. She tried to pull her arm away, but Leigh's grip was tight.

“What the hell is _this_ , then?” Leigh hissed at her. “I have never felt so _violated_ in all my life, but that doesn't matter to you, does it?”

“I've told you, over and over; I didn't _know_ Aldous would do such a thing,” Rachel tried to explain.

“But you won't do anything about it either, will you?” Leigh argued in a higher voice than usual. “You _know_ you could push until you get your way so I can have this THING taken out of me, but you won't. And you won't because you're scared; because you think I'm a threat, like _he_ thinks I'm a threat.”

“It's not like that, Leigh,” Rachel spoke. Her voice was calm and quiet, but firm. Leigh eventually let go of Rachel so the proclone could pull her hand away.

“You watch my every move, Rachel,” Leigh continued. She felt quite sick now.

“Because I'm _concerned,_ not because I don't trust you,” Rachel insisted. It was obvious Leigh didn't believe her. “Leigh, listen...things could be _so_ much worse for you. I don't think I have to tell you by now that I...feared greatly for your safety while you were travelling.” Rachel paused her speech to reach out and touch Leigh again. “At least this way, I can see you're safe...I know where you are...”

Leigh's anger dissolved, only to be replaced with a numbed acceptance...if she could even call it acceptance. She would never agree that Rachel didn't feel threatened. If she didn't feel threatened by Leigh, she felt threatened by DYAD. By Leekie.

This was the second time Leigh forgave Rachel, if only out of sheer exhaustion.

“I think you want the best of both worlds, Rachel,” Leigh spoke eventually. She shook her head at her own words, especially when Rachel looked confused. “And it won't work forever. Me and DYAD don't go together, and you're going to realise that eventually.”

Leigh broke away from Rachel's touch and continued down the street, unwilling to wait for Rachel to say she'd chose DYAD over her own sister every time.

Life continued to prove difficult for Leigh as the weeks rolled by. In spite of herself; in spite of her hatred for Daniel and the revulsion she felt at cracking so easily, Leigh turned up at Rachel's house one December evening after an unpleasant day with Shaun. She had a bag packed and a large suitcase behind her. Rachel was surprised to see her. Leigh's face was expressionless, worn out, and a little unnerving.

“I can't deal with that arsehole breathing down my neck twenty-four seven,” was the first thing she said when she saw Rachel. “So you win. I'll be staying here instead.”

Rachel stepped aside without a word, letting slip a small smile as Leigh marched inside.

Anger still radiated from Leigh for a _long_ time after that. It hurt Rachel quite a bit. There was still one thing Leigh hadn't forgiven her for, and Rachel's patience was wearing thin.

Aila.

Rachel couldn't understand; all she had done had been for Leigh, because she _had_ to make sure she was _safe,_ but apparently, that made Rachel the enemy.

Rachel mentally kicked herself every time she lost her nerve and attempted to reach out to her sister, only to be shoved away and insulted. What had she been expecting? For Leigh to instantly forgive her and for things to go back to 'normal'? What _was_ normal about this, anyway? Even when they were growing up, Rachel and Leigh had had a complicated and difficult relationship. There was never anything 'normal' about it.

Leigh and Rachel barely spoke to one another despite living under the same roof, and Leigh seemed to vanish altogether whenever Daniel paid a visit. She would retreat into the spare room without a word, shooting glares at Rachel's monitor as she went. She would not come out again until Daniel was gone, except to eat and use the bathroom. Rachel was sure Leigh stayed in the room for three days straight at one point. She'd obviously gone to great lengths to avoid seeing both Rachel and Daniel, only coming out when neither of them were around.

Rachel didn't like it. It wasn't healthy for Leigh to shut herself away all day every day. It was only making her angrier and angrier, and while it assured Rachel that Leigh wasn't actually _going_ anywhere, or getting up to anything she shouldn't, she wanted to do something about it.

There had to be an intervention.

It was for this reason that she turned Daniel away the next time they saw each other. He'd been pandering to Rachel all day long at DYAD, and Rachel allowed him to drive her home as usual.

“You are dismissed for this evening, Daniel,” she told him as she stepped out of the car. “I require your absence.”

Daniel didn't like to defy orders, but he _did_ have a job to do. A job that would cause problems with Leekie if it wasn't done properly. Then again, Daniel would be lying to himself if he said that was the _only_ reason he wanted to stay at Rachel's again.

“You seem to be requiring my absence more and more often,” he reminded Rachel carefully. “Perhaps I should stay.”

“Go home, Daniel.”

Rachel slammed the car door shut, ending the discussion promptly. Daniel looked annoyed briefly, and this pleased Rachel greatly. Daniel didn't want to stay because it was his duty; she _knew_ that. He only seemed to be interested in one thing as of late, and she wasn't going to let him have it tonight, or the next, or the next. She watched him drive off before approaching the house.

She was very displeased to discover her kitchen in a terrible state. Leigh was in the middle of it, throwing together various food items and apparently looking for something. Why did she have to be so _messy?_

“Can I _help_ you?” Rachel said stiffly to get her attention.

Leigh froze, but slowly rounded on her sister to see her wearing a very unimpressed stare. “I'm making dinner,” she said flatly.

“Are you sure about that? You appear to be destroying my kitchen.”

Leigh said nothing. She wasn't in the mood for Rachel. She never was anymore. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on what she was doing, never once glancing in Rachel's direction, who stood completely still to watch her for a while. Rachel knew her staring was fuelling Leigh's anger, but that's why she did it. She wished Leigh would get it all out of her system already. She wanted Leigh to shout, and scream, and lash out; whatever it took to allow them to move on from this.

Leigh wasn't going to cave though, apparently. Rachel watched her cook an entire meal, never once moving to remove her coat or sit down, and waited while Leigh tidied up the kitchen as best as she could. Once she served herself a plate, Rachel thought she would sit down at the kitchen table, allowing Rachel a chance to join her so they could talk, but Leigh did no such thing.

Instead, she picked up her plate, swept past Rachel, and disappeared to her room, closing the door loudly behind her.

Hot tears filled Rachel's eyes instantly. It shocked her that Leigh's behaviour upset her so much. She thought she'd mastered controlling her emotions by now.

Well, no more. Rachel would take control of this, like she did everything else.

She stormed angrily across the house towards Leigh's room, and yanked the door open without knocking. Leigh was sitting on the edge of her bed with her plate in her lap, eating as quickly as she could. She paused to peer up at Rachel, looking quite alarmed.

“Go and sit at the kitchen table,” Rachel ordered her.

“I'm happy here, thanks.”

“No you are _NOT!_ Go!”

Leigh simply stared at her.

“Leigh, this is _my_ house, and when you are in _my_ house, you will obey _my_ rules. If I say you will eat at the table, _you will eat at the table._ ”

The hairdresser inhaled deeply, apparently defeated. She stiffly rose from the bed, clutching the plate tightly while she exited the room. Rachel followed her.

“I would _like_ to talk to you,” she told Leigh firmly. She invited herself to sit opposite Leigh, who said nothing while she finished her meal. “I don't want you keeping to that tiny room all day every day. I don't like it.”

Leigh forced a sarcastic laugh. She gently set down her knife and fork on her empty plate, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back in her chair. It was only then that she looked at Rachel properly.

“Yeah, well you've done a lot of things I don't like either, but I have to accept them,” she snapped.

Rachel closed her eyes. She had to stay composed. She took a moment to talk calmness into herself before addressing Leigh again.

“You can't be telling me you're content to shut yourself off from the world,” she spoke quietly. “It is not like you.”

A wide smile flashed on Leigh's face. There was no warmth to it. What had these _awful_ clone friends of hers _done_ to her to make her this way? To make her consider _them_ far more important than they actually _were?_ To make her hate Rachel for putting them in their inferior place?

Rachel wasn't sure she knew Leigh at all anymore.

“I can't stand you being angry with me, Leigh,” she whispered at last. She looked away as she said this. She hated herself suddenly. She hated herself for having no control over these emotions. Rachel stood from the chair, walked around the table, and knelt down at Leigh's side. “Please...”

“Please _what?_ ” Leigh snapped.

Rachel placed a hand on Leigh's knee and gazed up at her sadly. Leigh stared down at her, waiting for an explanation. “Please don't be angry with me.”

Leigh shot up from the chair, forcing Rachel away from her. She rushed to move away, but Rachel stood quickly and blocked her path, taking Leigh's shoulders to keep her held still.

“Get off,” Leigh told her, but Rachel shook her head.

“No. No, Leigh, please...I need to make you _understand-_ ”

“You HURT my closest friend!” Leigh said loudly. She was trying to sound angry, Rachel was sure of it, but she whimpered the words rather than shouted them. “We trusted you and you were SO cruel! How do you expect me to understand WHY?”

She attempted to fight Rachel off her. Rachel only tightened her grip. Leigh was too tired to find the strength to escape her grasp.

“Listen to me,” Rachel pleaded. She held Leigh's gaze, neither of them blinking. “It wasn't personal-”

“Bullshit!”

“Leigh, _stop,_ ” Rachel said desperately. “It _wasn't_ ; it wasn't about Aila, _ever!_ You were right...Aldous...he lied to us...he lied to us _both_ , and you wanted me to know-”

“Yeah, but-”

“-and I thought...I thought...” Rachel trailed off, feeling weak suddenly as she attempted to explain herself. How could her wild, insane logic ever make sense to Leigh? Tears filled her eyes again, but she didn't care much about fighting them back this time. “I thought I may lose you forever, Leigh...listen...you're my _sister_...I thought I may never have the chance to tell you what that means to me.”

Leigh's face was wet with tears now; angry but defeated tears.

After a painful few seconds of staring silently at Rachel, Leigh broke down at last. Her knees buckled, and the last of her strength left her. A strangled sob escaped her as she fell against her sister. Leigh's weight being forced onto her so suddenly caused Rachel to stumble, and then they were both kneeling on the floor with Rachel holding Leigh tightly.

She didn't like Leigh's crying. Leigh still sounded so _angry_ , as though she'd never understand or appreciate the lengths Rachel had gone to, but she clung to Rachel desperately as she sobbed. Rachel struggled to breathe for a moment or two. Oh, how she'd never forgive those _parasites_ for breaking her sister like this. For causing such sadness. Such _weakness._

Leigh allowed herself to forgive Rachel a third time, despite feeling as though she was betraying Aila.

Rachel wondered if it was just a matter of time before Leigh discovered that she was officially dead. The status on Leigh's file read 'deceased', and Rachel was responsible for it. She had her reasons, though, and should she ever need to explain them, she knew Leigh would forgive her again.

After all, Rachel reasoned, Leigh _always_ forgave her in the end.


	2. Chapter 1

“ _Aila...Leigh's dead._ ”

Those simple words changed everything in an instant. Time seemed to come to a standstill in that moment. Aila barely noticed the days pass by after that sentence was spoken, grief and anger clinging to her inside and out. All she could do was remain in bed as her body and mind attempted to mend themselves.

Aila couldn't remember much about those days. She slowly regained her strength as the days dragged on, though it was all she could do to will herself to move most of the time. She remembered crying often, out of rage or pain or grief, but mostly, she remembered being numb.

_Why?_

That one question circled her mind. _Why_ had Leigh wanted to stay? _Why_ did she allow DYAD to kill her? _Why_ did no one seem to be able to get away from this never-ending cycle of misery?

There were no answers, and so after some time, the doctor tried to stop asking the questions and focused on healing one day at a time. Shortly after her arrival to the London house, she'd been introduced to a sixteen-year-old boy called Ian. He was Rat's younger brother, the blood-son of Eliza and Neal.

For simplicity's sake, they told Ian that Aila was Rat and Cecile's sister, which he accepted without many questions. Like most teenage boys, Ian spent his days at school. Most days when he wasn't in lessons, he spent his time outside with friends, or playing soccer. Aila attempted to appear somewhat positive when in his presence, but she found she couldn't escape the sense of grief, and knew it must have shown.

Rat wasn't fairing much better. The hacker had lost all contact with both Beth and Katja, and couldn't find anything about them in DYAD's files. She and Aila were completely in the dark about what exactly was going on, and could only sit back and wait for Katja to make contact.

Rat tried to be strong and support Aila when she was in her presence, though she'd be lying if she said the shock and grief of Leigh's death hadn't impacted her just as badly.

Rat wasn't eating as much, and barely spoke a word to anybody (except when talking to Aila). She often cried when she thought no one could hear her. She refused to admit out loud just how much she missed Leigh, Katja, and Beth. Even Danielle seemed strangely absent from Skype.

Aila had been surprised, but relieved, to learn Danielle managed to fake her own death and escape France. Rat later confirmed DYAD themselves thought Danielle was dead. The former skater had since been living under the false name of Adalyn Blancard in Geneva. Originally, she talked about joining Rat and Aila in London, but then decided to stay put for the time being before vanishing altogether.

Rat and Aila could only hope that wherever Danielle was, she was safe. They weren't sure they could take another death so soon.

Rat never realised before how much she'd come to appreciate and depend on the presence of her clone sisters. After spending seven years in self-imposed solitude, she thought being alone again would be easy. She was now finding that she dreaded the very _idea_ of being alone again, often unconsciously clinging to Aila's presence when spending time with her, and checking up on her healing progress.

The weeks slowly crawled along. With a great deal of encouragement and effort, Aila consented to starting physical therapy to build up strength in the muscles that had been injured by Daniel's blade. In particular, the muscles in her legs seemed to be weakened, and often failed to support her weight.

Eliza and Neal continued to shelter the clones and protect them from DYAD. They often tried to rekindle some type of bond with their daughter, though Rat rarely responded to them with anything more than a loose respect between adults.

The two of them, along with Lucas, continued on with their jobs at DYAD as they normally would. They often looked and listened out for any news of importance, though they rarely came back with any useful information.

Before long, snow started to fall in the city, blanketing the trees with its white crystalline beauty.

“I'd hoped we'd be able to celebrate Christmas together in Canada...” Rat confessed quietly one morning as she sat at Aila's bedside.

Aila frowned, wondering if Beth or Katja would make contact before the 25th. It didn't seem likely at this point. There had been no word from either of them since before November.

“I can't get hold of Katja, I can't get hold of Beth, I can't get hold of Danielle...I can't get hold of _anybody!_ ” Rat wailed, closing her eyes tightly. “No one's answering their Skype or their phones. The only chance we've got is to just _go_ to Canada ourselves when you're fit to travel. I have Beth's address. We'll need to see if she knows where Katja is. I can only hypothesize that Beth was involved in whatever _stupid_ idea Katja came up with, since Katja took the samples from the others with her...God, she's gonna be _gutted_ to hear about Leigh...”

Aila nodded, absently looking down at her arm, which was still in a sling. It had needed an additional surgery shortly after she arrived at the house to correct its healing progress, which had been interrupted by her time at DYAD. Eliza and Neal were optimistic though, and recent x-rays even showed that the break was healing at a faster than average rate.

Her gaze travelled from her arm to the series of bandages still covering her knife wounds. She suspected it'd be at least another month before she'd be able to easily move on her own again. The physical therapy was working wonders, though. It allowed her to walk, with the assistance of a crutch that she could use with her one good arm, after just a few weeks.

Rat sighed, leaning her head on her hand. “I miss them...” she muttered.

Aila shrugged. “We'll see Katja and Beth soon enough, and I'm sure Danielle will remember to log into Skype sooner or later,” she murmured.

Rat nodded. “Hopefully. We're leaving as soon as we can. I don't like staying still for so long.”

“Same,” Aila agreed, closing her eyes. “Beth _better_ not ignore us when we go to Canada like she's been ignoring us on Skype.”

“If she does, I'll smack her,” Rat grunted. “I _hate_ being in the dark on everything.”

December slowly transitioned into January. Lucas managed to stop by for Christma. He kept the clones company, though no one could bring themselves to feel cheerful. Katja, Beth, and Danielle remained absent from their lives, and with every passing day, the hope of hearing from them dimmed just that little bit more.

It was early January when Aila could finally walk without too much help, even as her legs still strained to carry her at times. Many of her bandages could stay off now as well, allowing the air to aid in healing the wounds.

A good majority of the thin lines seemed to become scars even as they healed, and as time went on, Aila began avoiding mirrors at all cost. She also did her best not to look down at herself if she was uncovered. The injuries weren't healed enough to use creams to lighten the scarring yet, though Rat promised she'd get Aila something for them as soon as she could.

Despite the cold weather and the risks of leaving cover, Aila constantly requested to be allowed into town for an afternoon. Staying cooped up inside of a house that resonated misery and grief made her feel trapped.

As she continued to heal, Aila started taking short walks outside with Rat. The two clones often wandered about in the forest near the house, the cold fresh air helping to clear their thoughts.

It wasn't as glamorous as going into town and doing something productive or fun, but it was enough to quell Aila's complaining for the most part. Rat was concerned though, even if she didn't voice her thoughts.

She didn't like the disturbing changes that had taken place in Aila ever since her time with DYAD, and since she learned the news of Leigh's death. Aila had always been the brightest one of them, the most optimistic even when things went horribly wrong...and now she seemed shadowed, often only speaking when there was something to complain about. Rat could only hope things would get better in time.

It was the middle of January when the clones were deemed fit to travel again. Eliza gave Aila several exercises to do to continue to strengthen her muscles on her own, should she need to, and Aila knew full well how to care for and manage her arm on her own.

Aila awoke early one morning, making her way out of her room and into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. It had become a skill by now to accomplish the task one-handed. She glanced over at the door where a single piece of luggage was placed, along with two backpacks and a violin case. As she waited for her coffee, Aila took note of the calendar hanging on the wall.

“January 19th...doesn't feel like we've been here for three months...” she murmured absently, jumping slightly as a cold nose came in contact with her leg.

The doctor glanced down to see Bianca staring up at her. The Chow-Chow's tongue lolled out to one side as she wagged her tail happily. Aila managed a small smile and leaned down to pet her, running her fingers through the dogs silky fur.

A moment later, Rat appeared with Charles at her side. The hacker still looked half asleep, though she muttered a vague 'good morning' to Aila before making her way towards the door with the two dogs. Aila eyed them for a moment, before pouring herself a cup of coffee and approaching the living room.

The plan was for Lucas to drive them to the airport and for them to buy last minute tickets to Canada. Lucas was due to arrive at the house any time now, and they hoped to leave sooner rather than later. If she was honest with herself, Aila couldn't deny that she wanted to get as far away from this city as possible.

Eliza and Neal had been lovely, but Aila couldn't help feeling increasingly suffocated here; not only by the physical limitations of her injuries, but by her memories as well. Her nightmares had shifted their focal point from the distant past to the far more recent past, and images of Rachel, Leigh, and Daniel filled her mind almost every time she fell asleep.

The increased frequency of the nightmares also meant it was impossible to get a restful night's sleep until she became too exhausted to dream at all. Eliza and Neal had attempted to locate a supply of Hypnocil for her, but it proved impossible to get it without a solid reason, and Rat didn't want to risk having such a thing shipped to the house for fear of alerting DYAD. Aila just had to hope that leaving this place would allow her to relax and move past everything that had happened.

It wasn't long before Rat came back in with the dogs, looking marginally more awake now. The hacker made her way into the kitchen to make something to eat, before settling down in the living room. Aila glanced at her, but said nothing as she sipped her drink.

“Lucas will be here shortly, and then we'll leave,” Rat said after a few moments. “I tried to get in touch with Danielle again last night but still got nothing. I'm not about to leave a text message telling her we're going to Canada. She'll have to make her own way there whenever she decides to get back in touch. I'm _not_ having her whining about it though. Bloody diva should know better than to suddenly drop all contact...”

It was obvious Rat was worried. Out of all the clones, Rat was the only one who managed to form any type of bond with the skater. She didn't want to think about all of the 'what-if's concerning Danielle's sudden absence, but she knew it would be extremely difficult to track her down in Geneva. Once she and Aila were back with Beth and Katja, Rat would refocus her efforts into locating the French clone.

Aila made a vague sound of agreement as she glanced over at the sound of footsteps. Ian walked into the room, looking sleepy as he rubbed his eyes. Charles ran over to him, wagging his tail in greeting.

“Hey kiddo,” Rat said, nodding to her younger brother. “The hell are you doing up so early? Go back to bed.”

“I'm good,” Ian said, suddenly breaking into a wide yawn as he knelt down to pet Charles. “Well...kinda...wanted to see you guys off though.”

Rat smiled slightly, shaking her head in amusement. “Spazz,” she muttered affectionately.

Aila watched the two quietly. She noticed that even though Rat claimed to not trust any of her family except Katja, she didn't hold any resentment towards her brother at all and even seemed to become a much softer person when talking to him. Ian had been sad to learn the clones were leaving again, though he seemed to make the effort not to show it. He understood they needed to find their friends, even if they didn't give him too many details.

Shortly afterwards, Eliza and Neal appeared as well. They both looked as though they had things they wanted to say, but they held back as they scanned the house to ensure the clones had everything they needed to go to Canada.

Half an hour later, Lucas arrived to load everything they needed into his car. Rat bit her lip, and sighed. She stood and walked over to Neal and Eliza after a moment. “Thank you for everything. I wouldn't have been able to help Aila on my own.”

Eliza smiled slightly, nodding. “It was the least we could do. If you girls ever need anything again...” she trailed off.

Rat nodded. “Yeah...” she murmured, averting her gaze as she darted forward to hug her parents. The hug lasted only a fraction of a second, and then Rat stepped back and walked outside with the dogs. Aila was already in the car, and Ian was helping Lucas put the last of the bags in the trunk.

“Zere, zat should do it,” Lucas said, before glancing at Rat with a smile. “Ready?”

“Yeah. I'll be there in just a minute,” Rat told him, before turning to look at Ian. “Take care of yourself kid,” she said as she hugged him. Then she handed him a piece of paper. “Keep this to yourself, right? If you ever need to get hold of me, call that number or send a friend request to that Skype account with the message that's written down underneath it, OK?”

“Got it,” Ian said, smiling lightly as he looked over the piece of paper. “Any chance you'll come back again?”

Rat shrugged. “Maybe some day, if it's safe to,” she told him. She smiled a bit and made her way to the car door. “Bye, Ian...”

“Bye, Gina,” Ian said, offering a half smile that looked every bit as though he was trying hard to hold back tears. He watched the car vanish down the driveway and out of sight.

The car ride to the airport silent, each passenger lost in their own thoughts. The clones hoped things would run more smoothly once they were with Beth in person. They needed to refocus their efforts into finding Helena and stopping her for good one way or another. It was the only way the rest of the unaware clones would be safe, and then they could get back to chipping away at DYAD.

When Lucas pulled into short stay parking, the parking lot was quiet, but filling up fast as people arrived to check in early for the various flights of the day. The airport itself was surprisingly active for the early time of morning. Lucas walked in with Aila and Rat to make sure they got their tickets, and to ensure they wouldn't need to wait another day to travel to Canada.

“Jesus, this place is massive,” Aila commented, looking around as she did.

“No kidding,” Rat agreed. She followed the signs to where they could check in and purchase tickets.

“Do we even know what city we're flying into?” Aila asked before they reached the counter.

Rat nodded. “Yeah. Beth lives in Toronto, so we're flying into Montreal and then taxi-jumping to where we need to be. It'll probably take some time, but that's the best option we've got really. I've got Beth's address written down, and we should have more than enough money for food and low-end motels and whatever else.”

Aila nodded and walked over towards the counter to inquire about purchasing tickets to Montreal. Rat walked over as well while Lucas hung back a bit. After scanning their passports, the woman behind the counter paused. She looked vaguely alarmed.

Rat noticed and raised an eyebrow. “Uh...something wrong?” she asked cautiously.

“No, no,” the woman said quickly. “Just...an error with the machine. Please wait right there while I go and get the manager.” The woman swiftly walked away.

Rat and Aila watched her go before glancing at each other. “The fuck was _that_ about?” Aila sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

Rat said nothing but began to feel nervous after a moment. It was a vibe she couldn't ignore. It told her something was wrong, though she tried to assure herself she was being silly and paranoid.

As luck would have it, though, she wasn't.

Lucas was the first to notice the three large security guards approaching the counter, their eyes trained on the two clones. Instinctively, Lucas darted forward to stand with Rat and Aila. What was going on? Had DYAD been waiting here for them?

The clones looked at the security guards with wide eyes, both wanting to run. They forced themselves to stay rooted to the spot. The dogs felt the tension and whined softly, looking around uncomfortably.

“You two, please come with us,” one guard said gruffly.

“Vat do you vant viz zem?” Lucas demanded, standing between the guards and the women.

“We will discuss that in private. Please come with us willingly, or we'll be forced to call for backup,” another guard told them calmly.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Aila squeaked, looking around as the three guards surrounded them. She knew there would be little chance of all three of them escaping. “Oh shit...I am _not_ going back to DYAD, no fucking way in _hell..._ ” she whimpered. She shrunk back from the men, who seemed confused by her reaction.

Rat glanced at Aila and took her hand, not knowing what else to do. She knew this worked for her whenever she needed to be calmed though, and hoped it worked the same way for Aila. The doctor became very still then, gripping Rat's hand as she trembled a bit.

“The hell's this about?!” Rat demanded, glaring up at the men. Despite the clone's small size, Rat wasn't afraid to yell at the much larger men, wanting to understand why they were suddenly being surrounded like this.

“One of your passports has been flagged. We'll just need to have it sorted out,” the guard explained. He ignored the other people around them who were staring.

“One?” Rat echoed, more than confused now. If it was DYAD, shouldn't _both_ of their passports have been flagged?

“Please come with us and we'll discuss it,” the guard said, sounding exasperated now. “I won't ask you again.”

Rat and Aila looked at each other uncertainly, but decided to do as they were told for now. It wasn't as though they had much of a choice, after all.

“I'm going viz zem as vell,” Lucas told the security guards firmly, who simply nodded to him as they led the trio and the animals off to a secure area away from the crowds.

Eventually, Rat, Aila, and Lucas found themselves in a small beige room with no windows and only one door. A table stood in the middle of the room, where the three were told to sit before being left alone.

“I do not know if zey are DYAD,” Lucas said as he sat down.

“Yeah, but they could be _calling_ DYAD,” Rat shot back. She didn't mean to sound rude, but the tension was making her extremely paranoid and jumpy, as it often did. “What I wanna know is if it _is_ DYAD, why would only one of our passports have been flagged? Aila, you said before that Leekie knows my fake name, right?”

“Aye,” Aila nodded. “He said he figured it out by tracking... _her_ flight patterns.” She did not want to say Leigh's name out loud.

Rat nodded with a subtle frown at the doctor's word choice, though she chose not to comment as she returned to the situation at hand. “Yeah, that's what I thought. This is too weird...”

After sitting alone for nearly forty minutes, the door finally opened, though the people who walked in did not strike the trio as DYAD employees at a first glance.

There were two people; one man and one woman. Both of them looked like they were in their mid twenties or early thirties. The man had dark skin and darker hair and wore a basic black t-shirt and jeans with a loose-fitting coat. The woman looked starkly different to her companion. She had extremely pale skin, far surpassing Rat's in that regard, and dark glasses that gradually lightened as they adjusted to the lighting in the room. She wore a light blue shirt, jeans, and a dark leather coat. Her long white hair was her most striking feature.

The woman looked around the room, her eyes zeroing in on the clones. “Which one of you is Aila MacPherson?” she asked, her tone deadly serious. She spoke with a distinctive American accent.

Aila stared at her. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that she _knew_ this woman from somewhere.

“Who the hell wants to know?!” Rat snarled before Aila could respond.

The man stepped forward then, looking between her and Aila. “Agents Ramsey and Patterson, International Fugitive Recovery Agency,” he said, holding up a badge. He spoke in a Scottish accent. “We'll ask again. Which one of you is Aila MacPherson?”

Aila's blood turned to ice at that moment as she stared at the two agents, suddenly understanding why only one passport had been flagged. This had nothing to do with DYAD. But why now? Had these two been after her all this time?

She recalled Selena's email from all those months ago; how she warned the clones about a cop who showed up asking questions about Aila specifically during Janika's murder investigation. Was one of these two the cop Selena talked about?

“There's no way my luck is that bad...” Aila whispered. Both of the agents looked at her, picking up on her accent at once.

The woman, Agent Patterson, stared at Aila for a long moment, before speaking softly. “Hello Hailee. Long time no see.”

“Cas, _don't_...” Agent Ramsey shot, a tone of warning in his voice.

Aila became very still then, hardly remembering to breathe for a moment. She stared at Agent Patterson with wide eyes, looking as if she'd been slapped. Her hand trembled slightly. “Holy shit...” she breathed after a minute, staring at the woman as if seeing her for the first time. “No fucking way...you...y-you're Cassandria, aren't you?” she whispered. She knew exactly why this woman seemed so familiar. How could she have forgotten?

“Aila vat is going on? Who _ez_ zis?” Lucas spoke for the first time, though Aila couldn't find the voice to respond. Her eyes stayed locked on the pale woman before her, who motioned for her to stand up. Aila consented numbly, knowing there was no getting out of it.

“Aila MacPherson – Hailee Balfour – you're under arrest for the murder of Joshua Burns,” Agent Patterson told her. She took Aila's free arm and placed it behind her back as she kept a firm hold on the shoulder of her injured arm. There was no point using handcuffs when Aila only had one good arm. “By the jurisdiction of the I.F.R.A, we are required to turn you over to the custody of the police force of your home country to await trial for the crimes of which you have been accused.”

Rat could only stare in horror. It was like a bad dream that just kept getting worse as she watched the two agents lead Aila out of the room without another word. Charles and Bianca whined loudly and tugged at their leashes as if they wanted to go after Aila, but Rat held them back.

She numbly turned to stare at Lucas helplessly.

“What do we do _now?_ ”


	3. Chapter 2

“So you say you have an offer for me?” Leigh asked one late January morning.

The hairdresser sat across from Aldous Leekie in his office at DYAD, both of them at opposite sides of the desk. Rachel Duncan stood in the office too, hovering behind Leigh. Leekie had invited her to sit down, but it seemed the proclone prefered to stand.

Leekie offered a subtle nod and a careful smile as he observed the auburn-haired clone. Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to get Leigh to spill the beans on Rat, Katja and Aila's current whereabouts, though he knew it was highly unlikely the other three clones would still be in the location Leigh last saw them. He also knew that Leigh hadn't made contact with them since returning to London, and with Rachel constantly pressing Leekie to 'give Leigh more time', the doctor was well aware that the chances of getting such information from Leigh were now extremely slim.

It was all Leekie could do to hold back a weary sigh as this thought crossed his mind for what felt like the hundredth time. He was quite sure, at times, that Rachel had done this on purpose.

Not that it mattered now. Leigh would still have her uses, despite the damage she'd caused.

“You mentioned, upon your return to London, another subject named Helena,” Leekie began slowly. “I've decided to look into this matter personally, Ashleigh. I'd like you to help me, if you will.”

“Help you?” Leigh echoed, arching an eyebrow as she stared at him. Her expression was blank as she waited for Leekie to explain.

Leekie nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair as he looked at the hairdresser. “I would like you to help us locate Amelia, so that we may confirm what happened to the subject she was carrying.”

Leigh blinked slowly. “Why do you think _I_ can help? Haven't you been trying to locate this woman for years or some shit?”

Leekie stared at her before flicking his gaze to Rachel, who watched him intently. The doctor sighed lightly. “ _Yes_ , though that hardly means we're giving up, Ashleigh. You've proven yourself to be extremely capable of locating people, and you would have DYAD's technology department at your disposal...within reason, of course.”

Leigh's frown deepened the more she listened to Leekie talk. It was obvious he was trying to flatter her with empty compliments, since she never found anyone by herself. She had the stolen DYAD files to give her a head start, and then anyone else she needed information on was researched by Rat.

“I'm still not helping you find Rat or anyone else,” Leigh said automatically as soon as the thought crossed her mind. It was entirely possible that Leekie was hoping she'd reach out to the hacker for help.

Leekie stared at her, looking surprised, though his expression was quickly masked. “I never asked you to...did you not hear the part about having access to DYAD's technology team within reason?” he asked with a semi-forced chuckle.

Of course in reality he _had_ hoped Leigh would want to reach out to the Swiss clone rather than relying on DYAD, but it seemed that was not going to happen. Leekie's eyes flickered to Rachel again, narrowing slightly when the blonde's lips twitched upwards in a small smirk. He had to remember that this was _Rachel's_ _sister_ he was dealing with.

Leigh stared at Leekie for several long moments, before sighing and shrugging. “Suppose I can try...I can't promise shit though, since your _brilliant_ scientists and techies haven't been able to find her in nearly _thirty years_ ,” she sneered, inwardly enjoying getting under Leekie's skin.

Since returning to DYAD, Leigh couldn't help feeling a constant wave of anger towards the old man for everything he'd ever put her, Rachel, and all of their clone sisters through. She knew Leekie was capable of putting anyone through anything and didn't care how much he hurt people to get what he wanted.

Leigh had to admit that she _did_ want to find Amelia, though. It was only because of Amelia's selfishness that Leigh and Rachel were split up at birth. Leigh had been curious to know the truth behind the surrogate's disappearance since she found out Rachel was her sister. At the very least, didn't the twins deserve the truth?

And at least this way, Leekie would take Leigh's claims seriously if Helena turned out to be Amelia's daughter. Maybe then DYAD would stop the killer clone once and for all.

“Can I go now?” Leigh asked Leekie after a short period of silence.

Leekie bowed his head in agreement and gestured for Leigh to leave. Leigh stood instantly, pushed her chair back and hurried to leave the office. Leekie simply frowned at the desk before him, ignoring Rachel's taunting smirk at Leigh's attitude towards him. The blonde clone turned swiftly to follow Leigh.

“I know my way out, Rachel,” Leigh commented dryly as Rachel caught up to her in the corridor. “Shouldn't you be getting back to work?”

Rachel only stared for a while as they navigated through the DYAD building so Leigh could leave. Leigh should know by now that Rachel Duncan set her own schedule and worked whenever she wanted. If she wanted to see her sister out of the building, she would do so.

“Where are you off to?” Rachel inquired. She stepped outside with Leigh, who stopped and turned to look at her before departing.

“I'm going ho-” Leigh broke off, inhaling deeply and furiously at the fact she'd amost said 'home'. Rachel's place still didn't feel like home; not really. “Back to yours. Though I'm sure you'll see that for yourself soon enough anyway. You don't need to _ask._ ”

Leigh's eyes flickered to the mobile phone in Rachel's hand, and Rachel subconciously hid it between her palms. She willed away any nagging feelings of guilt to be reminded of the chip embedded in Leigh's flesh.

“See you later,” Leigh said to her. She rushed away down the street before Rachel could say anything else.

Rachel held back a sigh. Leigh was still quite abrupt and distant at times, even now most of her anger had left her. Rachel supposed seeing and talking to Leekie didn't help matters, but she couldn't deny finding Leigh's snide comments irksome at times – when they were directed at Rachel, that was.

She'd have to have words with Leigh later, when Daniel wasn't around. With that thought in mind, Rachel tore her gaze from the figure of Leigh walking away and re-entered the building, eager to make plans to finish work early that day.

\--

“Vat are you going to do now? Continue on to Canada, or..?”

Rat paced back and forth in the living room of her parents' house restlessly. She hadn't been able to relax since the incident at the airport earlier that morning. Eliza, Neal, and Ian had all been surprised to see her back again so soon, and shocked when they heard what had happened. Lucas watched Rat, wishing he could help her relax a bit.

“No, I'm not going to bloody Canada without Aila,” Rat told him firmly. “There's gotta be _something_ we can do for her. She _didn't_ kill anybody, and with the way her mind is right now...” she trailed off, shaking her head. She didn't even want to think what prison could potentially do to damage Aila even further.

“Do you really think DYAD will allow them to put her in prison?” Eliza asked, frowning.

“I have no idea...it's not like there's not already a good number of clones behind bars,” Rat sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I know Leekie wanted her, me, and Katja because of how we messed with his experiments, but it's equally likely he'll be perfectly content letting Aila go down, if only because it splits us up even further and ensures she's out of the way.”

Charles and Bianca watched Rat from where they lay on the floor, both whining at the tension radiating from their master. Lucas frowned, trying to think how to get the clones back together.

He also wondered about the strange conversation from earlier that morning. Why had that woman called Aila by a different name? It was obvious enough that they knew each other, but what was the story behind it?

“Do you know who zat voman vas? Vhy did she call Aila 'Hailee'?” Lucas asked after a moment.

Rat paused then, frowning slightly. “I don't know how much Aila would want me to tell you about that,” she muttered. She'd read the files of other clones in the past, Aila's included. Rat knew certain things other people didn't because of it. “Well...to answer just that question, Hailee was Aila's birth name. She changed it when she was nineteen, though the reasons for doing so aren't mine to share. As for who that woman was, I have no idea...probably someone from Aila's teenage years if she called her by her old name.”

“I see,” Lucas nodded, deciding not to ask any more about it for now. “Vell, are vee sure zat Aila vill be facing conviction? Ez zere _no_ chance of being found innocent?”

Rat released a dry laugh. “Are you _kidding?_ They have DNA evidence against her, the body was found in her apartment, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone saw her and Leigh fleeing the building. Besides, she fled the country the morning after the murder, and unknowingly evaded capture for almost a _year_. Yeah, I think there's a reasonably high chance she'll be sent down for this.”

Rat flopped down in the nearest chair and stared down at the floor. She fell silent. For the first time in a long time, the hacker found that she had _no_ idea what to do next. She couldn't fathom actually breaking into the Scottish legal system to tamper with anything. She wasn't sure she _could,_ even if she wanted to.

She broke into DYAD and messed things up for them because they were an evil and ruthless organisation that had brought countless degrees of pain to women all over the planet. They _needed_ to be stopped. Breaking into a legal police force's computer networks, or even a prison's networks and messing _them_ around... _that_ wasn't something Rat wanted to do unless it was absolutely necessary.

But then, what else could she do for Aila? Computer work was all she really knew how to do.

What would Katja do? She'd probably be reckless enough to hack anyone and anything she could if it was the only way to help Aila. _She_ wouldn't care much about tampering with the police force in such a way. Leigh would probably do the same, if she was in a bad enough mood and let her anger interfere with her ability to think rationally.

Either that, or the hairdresser would sit and think for hours on end, just trying to form a plan that could work. Aila herself would most likely take that course of action. She always was the most sensible one.

Rat felt her eyes well with tears suddenly to realise once more that all three of them were gone.

“I need a minute,” she said in a controlled voice. She rose from the chair and left the house, masking her unwelcome surge of emotion quite well. The hacker paced the back garden of the house for a few minutes, breathing deeply to calm herself down.

She wasn't sure she was cut out for this...but giving up and letting fear get the better of her was _not_ an option. Rat _wasn't_ alone. There were people back in the house who were willing to help her, and Rat knew it was about time she stopped doubting that. That's what Katja would tell her, anyway.

Ignoring a brief wave of anger at the German clone's disappearance, Rat turned to re-enter the house. All three of her clone sisters were _not_ gone for good. She'd get Aila back somehow, and then she'd get Katja back too.

\--

A day passed since Aila's arrest. The Scottish clone couldn't remember much about being transported from London to Glasgow. Her mind was numb from shock as she attempted to ask endless questions over and over again.

The only thing that really mattered now was that Aila was in a cell at a station somewhere, and she had been for many hours. It was impossible not to be reminded of DYAD. Of _Rachel._

Aila had been told she'd be interviewed eventually, so she wasn't surprised when the cell door finally opened. An officer appeared to lead her to an interrogation room. Aila followed him numbly, staring at the floor as she walked. She had no idea what she could possibly say to prove her innocence or explain why she had to leave the country for so long.

The room she was led to was reasonably well-lit, with only a single light hanging from the ceiling. A long wooden table was placed in the middle of the room with two wooden chairs opposite each other. One wall was a long, dark window of one-way glass, and in the corner of the room was a video recorder. It was mounted on a tripod with its lens fixated on the table.

Aila was told to sit facing the window and to wait. She consented with a heavy sigh as she absently rubbed her arm. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been a few months ago, but it was still tender and ached if she went too long without basic pain medication.

A few minutes later, an aging man with greying hair walked into the room, holding a file. He nodded at Aila calmly and set the file on the table. Aila watched him walk over to the camera and hit a button that made the top of it flash green.

He then sat down at the table himself. “Morning,” he said politely, leaning back in his chair. “Have you been informed of your rights as of yet?”

Aila shook her head, staying silent as she looked down at her hand.

The man nodded. “You have the right to inform a single person of your arrest, you have the right to request free legal council at any time while you are detained, and you have the right to remain silent. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Aila mumbled, not looking at him.

The mention of being in court over this made her skin crawl, and she felt nauseous as it suddenly hit her that this was real. If she couldn't convince these people of her innocence, it would be game over for her. All she wanted to do in that moment was get as far away from this man as possible. Even though he was relaxed and spoke calmly, his very presence made Aila anxious to get this over with.

“Do you wish to contact anybody and inform them of your arrest?”

“No,” Aila told him. The only ones who mattered were already well aware of what happened, having witnessed it themselves.

The officer nodded and opened the folder up. He pulled out several photographs and slid them across the table. Aila didn't need to see them to know they were photographs of Joshua's body from several different angles, though she willed herself to look anyway.

Her throat tightened at the sight of the body. Her mind flashed back to that night when she and Leigh barely made it out of there alive. How that body would have been _her_ body had Leigh not appeared when she did.

The officer gauged Aila's reaction carefully before speaking. “Can you account for your whereabouts the night of February 2nd 2012 between the times of seven and ten PM?”

Aila was silent for several minutes, trying to conjure up as many details from that night as she could. It had been nearly a year, and many of the finer specifics were fuzzy, even though she recalled being shot at vividly.

“I had gone out to meet with a friend at a bed and breakfast in the city...when I left, Joshua was walking up the street...he was on his way home from work, I think?” she said slowly, finally meeting the officer's gaze. “I said hello to him and then got a taxi to the place...I was gone until around...eight? Maybe eight thirty? It wasn't that long...”

The officer nodded as he took notes. “This friend of yours have a name?”

Aila paused, biting her lip. Great, the _one_ person who could actually back her up had to be dead. Just _great_...

Aila nodded anyway with a sigh. “Ashleigh Callingham, or just Leigh Callingham as we called her.” She spoke Leigh's name quietly, as if afraid it would burn her throat if spoken too loudly. It was the first time in months that she'd said it out loud.

The officer marked down the name. He spelled the hairdresser's first name wrong, though Aila couldn't bring herself to correct him. It didn't matter anyway. Leigh wouldn't be able to testify for her.

“Then what happened after your meeting with this Ashleigh?”

Aila sighed, leaning back slightly as she eyed the photos again. “Both of us returned to my apartment. She told me she had reason to believe my life was in danger. She wanted to take me somewhere safe.”

“And you believed her?”

“I did,” Aila murmured with a nod. “I don't know why I did, but I just...yeah...” Aila shrugged. She didn't know herself why she decided to trust Leigh. It had just been instinctive.

“Go on. What happened next?”

“I could feel something was wrong even before opening the door. The atmosphere of the building just felt off to me. We went inside my apartment, and found the kitchen torn apart. I went in there while Leigh went into the living room...she saw the body first...I don't remember too much after that. I freaked out and started screaming...Leigh calmed me down, I think...the next thing I remember is being in my bedroom...I was getting my passport and some money when someone started shooting at me through the windows. I was lucky; I didn't get hit...we just ran then...ran out the building and to my car and just drove until it was safe...”

The officer grabbed the file again and flipped through some papers. “It says here your car was never recovered. What did you do with it?”

“I...left it under a bridge on the outskirts of the city...we walked back into town afterwards and bought new clothes, and then went to the airport...”

The officer frowned. “Why run? Why not go to the police?”

Aila paused then, realising how bad it sounded that she saw a dead body in her apartment, was shot at, and then the first thing she did was buy new clothes and go to the airport. Why _didn't_ she and Leigh go to the police? She was sure they had a reason; they must have...but Aila couldn't remember what it was. Perhaps it had been too long, or perhaps it was because she was so nervous, but suddenly she was drawing a blank as to why she and Leigh fled without a word to anyone.

Her blood turned cold as fear settled over her. The situation she found herself in was getting to be too much. She knew she had to tell the truth, but in this case, the truth only made her seem guiltier.

“I want a lawyer,” she said then. The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn't know if it would help, but she figured she looked and sounded guilty either way at this point.

The officer stared at Aila for a long moment, before nodding and gathering up the photos and papers. He shoved them back into the folder. “Very well. I'll send somebody to escort you back to your holding cell until a lawyer is present to represent your case.”

The door opened and closed, leaving Aila in silence. She released a slow, shuttering breath and closed her eyes tightly.

“I'm _screwed..._ ”

\--

Back in London, Leigh was finding herself to be growing rather restless. The sun had long since set, and she was a little hungry, but she couldn't bring herself to make a start on dinner. Rachel would be home any minute, and she knew the blonde would be displeased that Leigh hadn't made herself useful.

Not that Leigh cared much. If Rachel returned with Daniel (Leigh was seriously hoping she wouldn't), Daniel would make the dinner. Rachel was never going to do it herself.

Leigh had been in Rachel's apartment for the better part of five hours, playing the same thoughts and questions through her mind over and over again. How should she even _start_ what she was sure would be a failed attempt to track down Amelia? Not even Rat had found anything when Leigh asked her to look up such details all those months ago in France. Rat said herself there was almost nothing to go on.

The only thing Leigh could think of doing was contacting her parents in South Africa. She was reluctant to do so, however. She wasn't sure they'd know much anyway, and she worried Leekie might try to force them back to London should he trace Leigh's calls and emails.

It was for this reason that Leigh decided to ask for Rachel's opinion before emailing Janet and Spencer. In any case, Leigh was curious to know how Rachel felt about them being her birth parents. They'd never discussed such things as of yet, and Leigh wondered if she could push Rachel to keep them protected, as she was doing with Leigh.

The hairdresser stopped pacing to stare out of the floor-to-ceiling window, eager for Rachel to get home. If Daniel was with her, Leigh could make him go away. Rachel never hesitated to get rid of him to keep her sister happy anyway, even if she pretended Daniel's absence was an inconvenience.

Half an hour later, the door opened and Rachel walked in. The blonde appeared to be alone, a fact Leigh was entirely grateful for. Rachel glanced at the hairdresser, then into the kitchen with an unimpressed scowl.

“You have not cooked. Why?” Rachel asked slowly, walking over to her sister.

Leigh shrugged. “I've been busy.”

“Busy doing _what?_ ” Rachel asked flatly, eyeing the room. Nothing would suggest that Leigh had been doing anything at all.

Leigh shrugged and walked away from the windows to sit on the sofa. “Busy thinking about what Leekie wants me to do.”

Rachel stared at her, slowly lowering herself to sit beside Leigh. “What have you come up with?” she asked.

When Leekie proposed the idea of using Leigh to find Amelia, Rachel had been sure the hairdresser wouldn't be interested in helping him. It was surprising that Leigh consented to aiding DYAD in _anything_ when she acted as though she couldn't stand them.

Instead of answering, Leigh bit her lip and fell silent. Rachel stared at her expectantly. “Well?”

“What do you think about my parents also being your parents?” Leigh asked. Rachel blinked slowly, completely taken aback by the question. Of all of the things she'd been expecting Leigh to say, that was _definitely_ not one of them. Where was she even going with this?

“Why?” Rachel asked her carefully. Was Leigh planning something to do with them?

Leigh shrugged. “I just...never mind, it's stupid. Forget I asked that. Do you think it would be safe to email them? I want to ask if they know anything about Amelia, but I don't want Leekie to force them back here if he tracks the email and finds out where they are. I need to make sure they're protected from DYAD's fucked up influence after what Leekie did to them before.” Leigh was still not quite past the fact that Leekie held her parents captive with the intention of trying to bait her. It was only because of Rachel they got away safely.

Rachel stared at her, though she was willing to let the question go for now. She wasn't sure what she would even say on the matter anyway. “Your emails will most likely be tracked, yes. Would they know anything about her, though? As I understand, the only reason DYAD even came to them for a child was due to Amelia's inconvenient vanishing. I do not think your parents were ever introduced to her.”

Leigh sighed and shrugged again. “Maybe, maybe not. It's as good a start as any though.” She paused to look at her twin. “So...could you protect them if need be?” she asked quietly.

Rachel stared at Leigh for a long moment before speaking. “I... _suppose_ I can see to it that Aldous leaves them where they are, should he wish for their return,” she said slowly. She knew full well she almost always got her way when it came to Leekie.

It wasn't as though Leigh's parents would be _useful_ for anything anymore, after all. The only reason they were taken captive was to force Leigh to come home. Now she _was_ already home, they wouldn't be put through that again, as far as Rachel could reason. Not unless Leigh ran off again, even though Rachel knew she wouldn't now she was being tracked twenty-four seven.

“Seriously?” Leigh asked, surprised at the blonde's easy acceptance.

Rachel arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Please do not utilise that degrading tone, Leigh. I'm not _entirely_ heartless. And if you recall, I have _always_ acted in your parents' best interests, even though doing so could have harmed my position in the company,” she reminded Leigh dryly.

“Yeah...you did,” Leigh agreed quietly. “I never got to thank you for doing all that for them...”

Rachel had not only freed Leigh's parents from being held against their will, but she even helped them escape the country and hide away in Austria. And even more than that, she led Leigh straight to them when the clones needed to escape Geneva. That all happened before Rachel even knew Janet and Spencer were also _her_ parents.

Rachel's lips twitched upwards into a small smirk. “You may thank me by making my dinner now,” she quipped.

Leigh just rolled her eyes. One of these days she'd refuse to cook just so Rachel would have to do it herself. She wasn't even sure if Rachel was capable of such a task, but it would be funny to witness. For now though, Leigh stood from the sofa to enter the kitchen, hunger finally getting the better of her.

Rachel remained sitting for a while, staring absently into space now Leigh was in the other room. She'd wanted to have words with her sister about her irritable moods and constant harsh comments, but the conversation the two had just had drove those thoughts from Rachel's mind. Janet and Spencer were all Rachel could focus on now, though she wouldn't make that known.

She didn't like to think about them at all, if she could help it.

\--

Aila once again sat in the interview room she'd been questioned in earlier that day. After requesting a lawyer, she'd spent the remainder of the day shut away in her cell. She'd hoped a lawyer would arrive quickly, and though one was called to the station that very same day, it may as well have been a week later as far as Aila was concerned. The hours dragged on.

It was only when she began feeling hungry that she was taken back to the interview room. She was introduced to the lawyer, told the questioning would resume, and now she was sitting silently at the desk feeling uncomfortable at the eyes burning into her.

What was she even supposed to say? She'd told the truth so far, but nobody would believe her if she even mentioned the word 'clone'. She was sure of it.

“We'll ask you again,” the officer stated after Aila apparently ignored his question a second time. “ _Why_ did you flee the country instead of reporting the body in your apartment?”

Aila glanced warily at the lawyer sitting beside her, somehow not feeling reassured by his presence. The man gave a subtle nod. They'd talked briefly when he first arrived. The lawyer gave Aila a basic run down on which questions to answer and which questions to avoid answering, and how to avoid saying things which would be considered self-incrimination. It was a lot to take in.

Aila mulled over how to best answer the questions in the few hours she'd been left alone. Once she calmed down, she realised the honest answer was that she and Leigh had been so focused on escaping Helena, nothing else really registered at the time.

“We thought we were being chased by the shooter,” the Scottish clone said slowly, picking her words carefully. “We assumed someone would have heard the shots and called the police...it was daft, but we were scared and weren't thinking logically...Leigh told me there were more people she wanted to warn, and so rather than staying on my own, I went with her...” Aila tried hard not to cringe at how bad this sounded, even though it was true.

The officer leaned back in his chair, looking rather unconvinced, but he didn't press and switched to another line of questioning. He reached into the folder again, taking out a photograph of Joshua's palm. Blonde hair lay in it – Helena's hair, Aila recognised.

“DNA samples were recovered from the body in the form of hairs, as well as skin and blood under Joshua's nails. He put up quite a fight. According to our database, the DNA recovered matched that of a sample that was archived thirteen years ago. Yours. Or rather, Hailee Balfour's. Looking further, it was noted down that the original sample came about from an assault charge which was later dropped-”

“Is there a question in there somewhere, officer?” the lawyer spoke for the first time.

The officer fell silent for a moment as he stared at the laywer, before looking back at Aila. “If what you're saying is true, why was your DNA recovered from the body?”

“I don't know,” Aila told him. She wasn't about to talk about Helena, even if it meant lying. Saying her clone was responsible would make her sound desperate or crazy at this point. “But the hair on this photograph looks blonde. Mine's never been dyed,” she added after a moment. It wasn't much, but it might put some type of doubt forward.

“This friend of yours...any idea how she knew an attack was going to take place that night?”

“I don't know,” Aila lied again, shrugging. “What mattered to me was that she warned me I might be in danger, and then _that_ happened. It was enough for me to believe her and want to run before whoever it was came back to finish the job.”

This wasn't sounding any more convincing. What would happen when the police wanted to talk to Leigh? How would Aila explain that the hairdresser was dead? They'd either think Aila killed Leigh too, or think she fabricated the entire story.

Aila was questioned for another hour. Questions about Leigh, the shooter, Aila's relationship with Josh, and even questions about her old job were brought up. Aila attempted to answer the officer's questions truthfully, though the longer she talked, the more pessimistic and scared she felt. It never dawned on her before today just how... _fake_...the story actually sounded when told out loud to someone who wasn't involved with clones.

After some time, the officer put all the documents back in the folder and stood, leaving the interrogation room without a word. The lawyer also stood and walked from the room after a moment.

Aila buried her head in her hands, releasing a shuttering breath. She stayed like that for a while, trying hard not to break down in front of these people. She'd tried her hardest to sound convincing, and knew there was nothing more she could do to prove her innocence, but somehow in her gut, she knew it hadn't been enough. Not without Leigh, at the very least. Leigh was gone though, and now Aila had to fend for herself again. Rat would fight for her, but Aila was unsure if the hacker could really get her out of this mess.

Later, the officer dealing with Aila returned yet again. Aila raised her gaze to meet his, saying nothing as she waited for him to speak.

“You will be held in police custody until further notice. A custody report will be delivered to the Procurator Fiscal tomorrow morning, who will review your case and decide if there is sufficient evidence to proceed to a trial. At that time, he will also decide if you are eligible to be released on bail.”

Aila bowed her head and stayed silent, knowing exactly what this meant. She was right. Her story wasn't enough, and now the police saw fit to move the case on to the next step.

The Scottish woman didn't remember much about what happened after that.

She vaguely recalled being led back to her cell yet again, but her mind had gone numb. She vaguely recalled the defeaning silence in the small cell...and she vaguely recalled automatically climbing onto the small cot the police had provided to cry.

How did things go so wrong so fast?


	4. Chapter 3

Driving from London to Glasgow was a long and silent process. Lucas and Rat decided to leave the dogs and most of their unimportant possessions with Eliza and Neal temporarily while they traveled to Scotland.

Lucas had taken the rest of the week off from his job at DYAD through using unspent vacation hours. He told Rat that DYAD might be suspicious, but he hoped the vague citation of needing personal time would hold out for at least a bit.

Whatever happened though, he could deal with it. He didn't want to let Rat travel to the bordering country by herself after losing the last of her clone sisters. Lucas may not have had a very strong relationship with her, but she was still one of his missing daughters. He wanted to be there for her as much as he could.

The two spent the better part of the day travelling, and checked into a hotel room in Glasgow by the evening. The following morning, Rat attempted to track down Aila's current location, even though she still felt wrong about tampering with the legal police in any way.

“As far as I can tell, she's being held in police custody and will be made to appear in court later today. It's not a trial, but rather to be told if there's enough evidence to go on to a trial...I guess? Something like that anyway,” Rat told Lucas, glancing at him as she sat on one of the two beds in the room. “One of the higher ups in their justice system is due to review her case this morning. It almost seems like it's being fast-tracked though, for some reason. Usually these things take weeks or months...I don't know if it's DYAD's doing or what.”

“I suppose zere is still nozing vee can do to stop zis...” Lucas muttered, frowning.

Rat shook her head with a sigh. “I got nothing, as much as I hate to admit it. I'd ask Beth since she knows about police crap, but she hasn't logged into Skype since last November.”

“Perhaps for now vee should simply be zere for Aila and zen come up vith plan depending on how zis court...zing...turns out?” Lucas suggested.

Rat nodded. She lay back on the bed. “I guess for now that's all we can do. Friggin' _pisses me off_ though. I looked into those two who took Aila away...Ramsey and Patterson...they're only licensed to freely track people in Europe as far as I can tell. If we made it to Canada, they would have been forced to go back home and get special permission to carry on with it. They probably would have caught up to us eventually, but it would have bought us more time to get to Beth. We just left this country too damn slowly...stupid bloody sadist Rachel,” the hacker grumbled under her breath. “This _all_ goes back to her.”

Lucas frowned, remaining silent. He'd been around the hacker long enough by now to be familiar with her moodiness, even if he could understand her frustration this time. There was no point in dwelling on it, though.

“In any case, vee must keep our eyes on vat needs to be done next instead of vat has already happened. Vould vee be allowed to visit Aila vile she is at police station?” Lucas asked.

Rat glanced over at him. She thought Lucas sounded exactly like Katja in that moment. She sat up and nodded. “Yeah, we can see about visiting her. Let me write down the address.” She reached for some paper and a pen before looking back at her screen.

Lucas waited patiently for Rat to get the information they needed. It seemed the station Aila was being kept in was a good forty-five minutes away by car. Rat let out a sharp sigh at the thought of having to travel even further, but at least it wouldn't take hours.

She and Lucas made plans to get breakfast before looking up directions to the station.

\--

Leigh was completely fed up. The days were long and boring when she was stuck in Rachel's apartment with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. Sometimes, Daniel would stop by when Rachel insisted she needed him there for whatever reason. Leigh wondered if Daniel was sent to keep an eye on her while Rachel was at DYAD, since Daniel never particularly seemed to _do_ anything but get on Leigh's nerves. If that was the case, nobody would admit it, and Daniel did not follow or stop Leigh when she left the apartment just to get away from him.

Maybe Daniel couldn't be bothered with Leigh. He was as fed up with her harsh comments and hateful looks as Leigh was with his entire existence. Besides, as far as Daniel was concerned, Leigh was _Shaun's_ problem. If anyone should be sent to monitor Leigh closely, it should be him.

But Leigh hadn't seen or heard from Shaun since she moved into Rachel's, much to her relief. She briefly wondered where he was or what he was doing now. Surely Leekie, or even anyone else at DYAD for that matter, could not see fit to allow Rachel to monitor Leigh, even with Daniel's 'assistance'. No, that was ridiculous. Leigh wasn't sure she approved herself, even if it meant being free of Shaun.

It was just weird.

Leigh had more important things to worry about though. She'd been waiting for her parents to respond to an email she sent the night she'd had her conversation with Rachel. She'd asked them if they ever met Amelia, or had any ideas as to where she went when she disappeared. So far, Janet and Spencer hadn't responded. Leigh was eager for them to make contact, even if it meant they couldn't help her. It'd been many months since Leigh saw or even spoke to them. It would be nice to know they were doing well.

But the hairdresser found herself growing impatient with the lack of response, even if she hadn't given them much time to even get online yet. Not only that, but she was impatient with everything else as well.

Life was boring. She needed to _get_ her life back, especially if the hunt for Amelia was going to be a slow process.

“I need a job,” she muttered wearily to herself over breakfast.

Rachel, who was busy making tea before she left for work that morning, heard her. She put down the kettle and turned swiftly to watch her sister.

“A job,” she repeated.

Leigh sharply looked up at her, surprised Rachel had heard. “Well, yes. You said yourself I shouldn't be stuck inside all the time. Besides, since I'm living here, I'd have thought you'd want me to pay my way.”

“There is no need to be quite so defensive,” Rachel told her. “I never said I disapprove.”

“Good,” Leigh told her, “because I'm going mad sitting around doing nothing. I can't focus _all_ my time on Amelia, anyway. It's just not possible.”

Rachel nodded. She finished making her tea and took a sip, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “There are many positions available at DYAD; a lot of them you would be suited to-”

“ _No,_ ” Leigh snapped loudly. Rachel looked deeply affronted. “Rachel, don't even go there.”

Rachel stared at her. She wanted to argue, but her phone rang at that moment. She crossed the room to pick it up, looking at the screen to see who was calling. “Daniel?” she spoke when she answered it. She ignored the deepening frown on Leigh's face at the mention of the name. “Good. I'll be out shortly.”

Rachel hung up and turned back to Leigh. “Your stubbornness is aggravating as always, Leigh, but I am leaving for work,” she stated. “We shall discuss this later.”

Leigh didn't say anything in response to this, but she watched as Rachel left the apartment, her cup of tea still in her hands. Leigh was quite baffled at Rachel taking it with her, but she shook her head and decided she didn't care.

Leigh sat in silence for a few moments longer, before making her way into the other room to relax and maybe start looking into jobs in the area. It was all she could do until she heard back from her parents, after all.

\--

Aila hadn't moved all morning, except to eat. She simply sat in silence and stared at the wall as she waited numbly for an officer to tell her when it was time to go. She considered calling Rat, but she wasn't sure if that was the best idea. It was only a matter of time before DYAD found out about what happened, and she didn't want to put the hacker or her family in danger by contacting them. She was sure news of her arrest would be in the papers soon enough anyway, if it wasn't already.

Aila had been told earlier that the Prosecutor Fiscal would be reviewing her case that morning, and that she was due to appear in court before him later to hear his decision. He would either rule that a trial go forward if there was enough evidence against her, or he would decide there wasn't enough evidence for a case, meaning Aila would be free to go. At this point, she wasn't overly hopeful. She hoped she could at least get out on bail and figure out something to do from there.

The doctor glanced over at the sound of the door opening. She thought it couldn't possibly be afternoon yet, though she stood anyway and watched the officer warily. He seemed to be talking to someone else outside.

“You've got one hour,” he was saying, before stepping aside.

Aila's eyebrows shot up in surprise when Rat and Lucas walked into the room. The officer closed the door behind them, and they wasted no time in walking over to the doctor. They both looked quite concerned...not that Aila could blame them.

“Hallo,” Lucas said, attempting to sound somewhat cheerful to lighten the mood.

“So what's happening? Did they actually charge you with anything yet?” Rat asked anxiously, getting right to the point as usual.

“Aye,” Aila sighed. “Or, well...kinda. They have enough to keep me in custody, but I won't know if this will go to trial for sure until later on. The main public prosecutor's gonna be figuring that out this morning, I guess. Seems too bloody quick to make that kinda decision, I think, but...” she trailed off and shrugged helplessly.

“Yeah, I thought that too,” Rat muttered. “It seems like this whole case is being fast-tracked. So what happened exactly? What did you tell them?”

“The truth...even though it ended up sounding _really_ fucking fake,” Aila told her. She sat back down on her cot. “Doesn't help that the whole mess happened a year ago now, so anyone they ask for confirmation won't be reliable, I don't think...I think I heard them saying they're gonna be talking to the people working at the B &B where I'd been talking to Leigh...but I'm not holding my breath, to be honest.”

“Jesus...” Rat breathed. She'd known it was extremely likely Aila was going to be sent down for this, but it didn't make it any easier to hear, or to see Aila's desperation and hopelessness. “This isn't _right_ Aila. We know damn well you didn't kill that guy.”

Aila sighed. “I'm well aware of that, but what can we do? We couldn't catch the bitch...plus, how the hell would I even explain _that?_ I'm not exactly gonna go telling them about clones. They'd think I was either really desperate or a bloody nutter! Hell, at this point I think the only chance I'd realistically have would be to go to _them_ for help, which is absolutely not going to happen, _ever._ ”

There was no way she was ever going to ask DYAD for help with anything after what Rachel did to her. If it came between prison and DYAD, Aila would take her chances in prison. Rat frowned and lightly put her hand on the doctor's shoulder, glancing up at Lucas helplessly. She had absolutely no idea what to do or say to help.

Aila glanced at Rat then with a somber look. “You should go to Canada,” she told her. “Find Katja and Beth and finish what we started.”

“Like HELL I'm leaving you here to rot,” Rat snapped venomously. Aila flinched away from her in surprise. “Look, I dunno what we're gonna do yet, but there's _got_ to be a way to fix this whole mess. We'll find a way out. We always manage to somehow.” The determination in Rat's voice was unwavering.

Aila bowed her head and said nothing. It was obvious she didn't really believe it, even though she didn't argue.

Lucas sat beside Aila and lightly put his hand on her shoulder. “Vee are family,” he told her. “Vee vill not simply move on and forget about you. Especially not now. Vee _vill_ find a vay out of zis. Have faith is us, ja?”

Aila was very strongly reminded of Katja.

\--

“Rachel, I need to ask a favour.”

The proclone blinked slowly in her office at DYAD. Staring out the floor-to-ceiling window intently, she caught a brief glimpse of irritation in her reflection. She was glad Leigh was not there to see it.

“ _Another_ favour?” she spoke into her mobile phone. She masked her annoyance quite well with her expressionless voice.

“Please,” Leigh continued on. She, like Rachel, stood before the window (this one in Rachel's apartment) as she talked down the phone. “I'm heading over to my mum and dad's place later on. I'm taking it DYAD recovered their house keys after they did a runner, like they did mine. Can you get them for me?”

Rachel allowed herself a moment to pause before answering. “For what reason do you wish to go back there? Did they email you back?”

Leigh paused too. She considered saying she _had_ received an email, if only to persuade her sister to do as she asked...but Leigh was smarter than that. Rachel surely knew if Leigh had heard from her parents. Rachel probably had Leigh's email inbox displayed in front of her as they talked.

“No, not yet, but I'm tired of waiting,” Leigh insisted.

“You have not even given them twenty-four hours,” Rachel tried to reason. “As hard as it is to believe, some people in this world are capable of going days at a time without using the internet.”

“Yes I know that, thank you,” Leigh commented dryly, rolling her eyes at her own reflection in the window. She knew full well her parents were slow when it came to such things. “But I'm sure Leekie wants me to make a start on this as soon as possible, yes? And to be honest, so do I.”

Rachel closed her eyes. “Come to DYAD immediately,” she ordered. “I'll have someone meet you at reception to escort you to my office. I would still like to discuss career matters with you.”

Leigh resisted a sigh. “Will you get me the keys if I agree?”

“Yes,” Rachel told her. “I shall have them waiting for you.”

\--

Leigh grumbled under her breath as she walked into the DYAD facility. She hated coming here, and hoped she could make it up to Rachel's office without running into Leekie. As promised, a young woman was waiting in front of the reception desk.

Leigh followed her in silence as they walked towards the elevators. Rachel's office was stupidly high up in order to allow the blonde to see out over the city from her precious floor-to-ceiling windows.

Rachel was waiting for her when she arrived in the spacious office. Daniel was there with her, looking as smug as ever. Leigh shot him a seething glare, which he met evenly without a word.

“You may leave us, Daniel,” Rachel told him dismissively, as she often did when Leigh was around.

“Yes ma'am,” Daniel said after a moment, smiling and nodding to Leigh as he passed her. Leigh narrowed her eyes at him hatefully, but didn't waste her breath and walked over to Rachel instead.

“Please sit,” Rachel told her twin, nodding to the chair beside her own.

“Do you have the keys?” Leigh asked.

Rachel sighed lightly and placed the keys on the desk. “Yes, now sit. You may have them when we have finished discussing career opportunities.”

Leigh bit back a groan, but did as she was told. Rachel began explaining about various aspects of the company while Leigh nodded along at various points. After a short time, her mind tuned Rachel's voice out and instead she began thinking about Amelia.

The hairdresser mentally reviewed everything she knew about the mysterious missing surrogate. She wondered what she would even look for at her parents' house. If they knew anything, would there even be any record of it?

An hour later, Rachel glanced at her twin, almost seeming somewhat excited that she'd managed to ramble on about the glories of DYAD without a single interruption or complaint from Leigh.

“Well?”

Leigh blinked, snapping back to reality when she realised Rachel had stopped talking. “Yeah, that's all...nice...I guess. I told you before though...I'm not working here.” She casually reached over to grab the keys from the desk.

Rachel stared at her, shocked. “I believe we had a deal. You are not to have those keys until we are through discussing these most important matters.”

Leigh gave a lopsided grin. “And we did. I never said I'd agree, though.”

Rachel blinked slowly, anger sparking in her eyes for a moment as she realised she'd allowed herself to fall into a loophole. The blonde sighed heavily, leaning back into her chair as she closed the lid on her laptop. “Fine. Go on then,” she muttered.

Leigh raised an eyebrow, not sure why Rachel was suddenly angry. She already knew Leigh would never agree to be a part of DYAD after everything that happened. The hairdresser looked down at the keys in her hand though, and knew she had to get going if she wanted to make it to her parents' house while it was still daylight.

“I'll see you back at yours later, all right?” Leigh said, making her way towards the door. Rachel merely nodded and said nothing, allowing Leigh to leave. Leigh shook her head and walked out of the room.

Rachel would get over it, Leigh was sure. She always did.

\--

When the hour was up, Rat and Lucas were made to leave. Aila watched them go sadly, before bringing her knees up to her chest as she stared at the wall again. She'd been brought lunch, but she barely touched it. She already missed Rat and Lucas.

Aila glanced over at the sound of the door, seeing the lawyer from the day before walk in and sit opposite her, holding a file. Aila nodded to him in a vague greeting, but remained silent.

“We need to discuss what your plea should be,” he told her. “The Prosecutor will want to know before he makes his final decision. Unfortunately at this point, my recommendation would be to plead guilty-”

“ _WHAT?!_ ” Aila squeaked, her eyes wide. “I'm not pleading friggin' guilty! I didn't _do_ anything!”

The lawyer held a hand up to silence her. “Listen honey...it's not that I don't believe you, but the evidence stacked against you is incredibly compelling, and that's all _anyone's_ going to care about. At the very least, pleading guilty will guarantee that you will _not_ receive a life sentence. Pleading not guilty will mean a trial will go forward, and there would be no limit on how long you would be sentenced.”

“So you're saying there's _no_ chance of being found not guilty?!” Aila snapped, letting her frustration show.

The lawyer met her gaze, unfazed. “At this point it's unlikely, based on the evidence gathered from the crime scene and your actions following the event. A full trial might uncover something that could help you, though witnesses from your work, former apartment complex, and the bed and breakfast may not be reliable after so long. Basically, what that means is the judge and jury will only be able to look at the raw evidence, and truthfully, DNA evidence _alone_ is usually enough to sway them. In your particular case, they've got that as well as circumstantial evidence. Plus, I can tell you now that there's a very real chance of the prosecution bringing up the fact that your past isn't exactly clean.”

Aila groaned loudly. “Oh come _on!_ I was _fifteen_ for Christ's sake! I haven't done ANYTHING violent, or even remotely _close_ to lawbreaking, since helping to get New Haven's orphanage shut down! I'm a _doctor_ now! I _help_ people!”

The lawyer sat through Aila's outburst in silence, waiting until she fell quiet again before standing. “It's up to you, but I'm telling you now, a guilty plea is going to be your _only_ chance of avoiding a life sentence. Think it over. Your court appointment is in half an hour.” He walked out of the room.

Aila watched him go numbly, before closing her eyes tightly. There was no way she was going to own up to Helena's crime...but what if the lawyer was right? Was that really the only way she might not spend _the_ _rest of her_ _life_ in jail?

As much as she hated being in this position, she knew deep in her gut there was no way anyone would even consider the possibility that Helena was real. She couldn't even prove _Leigh_ was real.

The doctor rubbed her arm absently to try to quell its aching. Since being arrested, she hadn't been allowed any type of pain medication. She simply tried to deal with the persistent ache as she thought over what she was going to do.

She held onto the hope of being able to get out on bail...but even if she did, was there really anything she could do? It wasn't like she could leave the country again. There was no way her passport wouldn't be flagged.

“Fuck.”

There was absolutely no coming back from this.

\--

Aila didn't remember much about the drive over to the courthouse. She sat in the back of the escort car in silence. She was glad she didn't have to wear handcuffs at least, with her left arm still in its sling.

Upon arriving at the building, Aila was led into a large room and was instructed to sit at a table facing a large bench where a single older man sat. There were other people in the room as well, but the doctor didn't pay them much mind and stayed focused on the sheriff. The gathering wasn't very big due to the fact it was her first court appearance, and was therefore considered private. Only a handful of people needed to be there.

After several minutes, the sheriff looked up from his paperwork, leaning back in his chair. The room became deadly silent. Aila was vaguely aware of her lawyer sitting down beside her, but she didn't look at him.

“Is the accused present here today?”

“Yes, your honor,” Aila's lawyer spoke.

The sheriff nodded and turned his attention to Aila, before looking down and reading off of a sheet of paper. “Aila MacPherson, you have been brought here today on one count of murder in the first degree, one count of fleeing the scene of a crime, and one count of evading police capture. How do you plead?”

Aila bit her lip, knowing she was probably going to regret this, though her voice was firm when she spoke. “Not guilty, your honor.”

The sheriff stared at her for a long moment, before nodding. “Very well. After reviewing this case and conversing with the Prosecutor Fiscal, I believe there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution. The accused will be required to attend a preliminary hearing at the High Court at a date which is to be set within eleven months of this date, followed up by a trial within twelve months of this date. Until that time, the accused shall be remanded in custody and transferred to HMP Lochaire to await her next court appearance.”

Aila blinked slowly, her heart skipping a beat. “W-What?” she asked numbly. She was going to have to wait _IN_ prison before finding out if she was going to spend the rest of her life there?

“Why has bail been rejected?!” she blurted out before she could stop herself. She wasn't particularly well versed in law, but she knew only really dangerous people and flight risks should have bail requests rejected.

The sheriff met her gaze evenly. “Given your history, the courts believe there is a high probability that you will not choose to return to court on the assigned days. Therefore, it is appropriate to ensure that that does not happen. You will be able to reapply for bail if you so choose to at your next hearing.”

“But...” Aila whispered, though she paused as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She glanced up at her lawyer, who subtly shook his head. There was no point in arguing with the judge. It would only make things worse. Aila closed her eyes tightly, willing this all to be some horrible, twisted nightmare.

Everything was happening way too fast, and she knew the worst was still yet to come.

\--

Driving to the abandoned house felt strange to Leigh. It'd been well over a year since she visited her parents' house. Although Leigh had moved out to her own place many years ago, she'd still come back here to see her parents often...but knowing they weren't there this time was odd. She supposed it would be as cold and dusty inside as her own was upon her return to London.

Leigh pulled over by the curb when she reached the house and switched off the car's engine. She took a moment to gaze out the window, just studying the building through the darkness. She'd wanted to arrive here before sunset, but queues of traffic on the busy roads meant it wasn't possible.

Grumbling to herself, Leigh hoped the traffic would have cleared itself by the time she left. She did _not_ want to spend another ridiculous amount of time sitting behind the wheel. It was getting late already.

The hairdresser finally opened the car door, got out, and locked the vehicle. Then she turned her attention to the house, switching her car keys for the house keys inside her bag. She walked down the empty driveway towards the front door.

It was surreal, she realised, to remember that she once lived here. It almost felt like an entirely other life. She and Rachel spent many weekends together here in their teenage years, back when they were close. Leigh wondered if Rachel ever thought about such memories.

The front door creaked open when Leigh unlocked it with the key. As expected, a cold stillness greeted her when she stepped into the hallway. Leigh absently felt around for the hallway's light switch, and she was annoyed to discover there was no power. This was one of the reasons she wanted to get here while it was still light. Her parents had been gone for months, meaning they weren't around to pay the bills. It was no wonder the electricity wasn't working.

“Bloody perfect,” Leigh muttered to herself. She whipped out her phone to use its built-in torch feature, though she knew it would quickly drain her battery if she kept it on for too long.

This had been such a bad idea. If it wasn't for the fact the city was suffering a traffic jam, she'd go back to Rachel's and try this again tomorrow...but right now, the idea of being stuck in traffic was the most annoying thing.

A sound caught Leigh's attention then. It was very subtle, but she was sure she heard something. The hairdresser looked around the darkness, blinking slowly.

“The fuck?” she muttered, shining her phone around to illuminate the hallway. She couldn't see anything unusual, and lowered her phone again. She reasoned it was probably nothing...maybe a squirrel had gotten in to ransack the food that had been left behind?

Leigh sighed, making her way to the kitchen to locate a real flashlight before her phone died. The silence in the house was deafening, and every step she took only seemed to remind her of everything that had led to this moment. She located the flashlight quickly, and put her phone back in her pocket. The room was soon illuminated in a dim yellow glow.

The kitchen was mostly clean, though something immediately struck Leigh as peculiar. On the table was a pile of open cans of food, all of them empty. Some looked like they'd been there for a while. The bits of food left inside were dry and crusty. Others looked like they were quite new and only recently opened.

“What the...”

Suddenly Leigh jumped hard as a loud sound echoed through the house, followed by a loud curse from a female voice. The hairdresser grabbed the closest thing to her, a pan off of the top of the stove, and darted towards the source of the sound without thinking.

In the living room, Leigh shined the light around. Her eyes immediately locked on to something – the figure of a woman. The stranger hastily attempted to climb out the window.

“OI!” Leigh snapped shrilly. She rushed at the myserty woman, pan raised threateningly. “The fuck do you think you're DOING in here?!”

The woman turned to face Leigh, staring at her with wide, scared eyes. She looked quite rough. Her hair was dirty blonde and matted, and her clothes and skin were covered in dirt and grime. Something in her face reflected defiance though, masking the fear.

“I got every right to be here! Who the fuck are _you?!_ ” the woman barked back at Leigh, taking on a fighting stance.

Leigh kept her pan raised, keeping the light trained on the woman in front of her. “You have a _right_ to be in my parents' house?! Who _are_ you?” she demanded.

Somehow Leigh couldn't shake the feeling that she _knew_ this woman somehow. Something about her face and voice seemed strangely familiar.

The defensive and defiant look on the other woman's face melted away then, only to be replaced with a look of realisation. “A-Ashleigh?” she squeaked.

Leigh felt her own expression soften. This was not a woman standing before her, but a girl. It was obvious now from the tone of her voice and the young, helpless look in her fearful blue eyes.

“Gabby?” Leigh questioned. From the look the girl gave her, Leigh knew she was right.

What on earth was her fourteen-year-old cousin doing here though, and in such a terrible state?


	5. Chapter 4

Leigh lowered the saucepan and fought to keep her hands from trembling. She managed to keep the torch steady enough to keep Gabby's face illuminated, though the young girl took a fearful step back at the look of shock on her cousin's face.

“How long have you been here?” Leigh asked for lack of anything else to say. She guessed from the number of open cans in the kitchen it'd been a good while.

“I-I didn't...” Gabby began, but she quickly became confused as to how to explain herself. She took another step back and bumped into the windowsill behind her. “I didn't know where else to go – I thought...I thought someone would be here – where's Aunt Janet and Uncle Spencer?” Her tone had become angry and demanding again, and the fierce look was back in her eyes.

Leigh's mouth fell open, and she wanted to say something, but words failed her.

“Well?” Gabby shrieked.

“They don't live here anymore – Gabby, what's happened?” Leigh asked urgently.

Gabby shook her head. “You said this is their home! If they don't live here, why're _you_ here?”

“That's not important! Why are _YOU_ here?” Leigh retaliated.

“I'm such an idiot,” Gabby said with a fake, annoyed smile. “Here I was thinkin' they'd really show up if I stuck around long enough, but no. Did they know I was coming and done a runner? They don't want me just like _he_ don't want me-”

“ _Who?_ ” Leigh demanded. “You mean your dad?”

Leigh stared at her cousin in silence for a few seconds. She hadn't seen Gabby in around six or seven years. Gabby's father and Leigh's had had a massive argument. Leigh never understood what the fight had been about, but she knew it must be serious for the two brothers to stop seeing one another. Life for Leigh's cousins had never been easy, as far as Leigh could remember. She remembered her Uncle Ray being a particularly unpleasant man at times.

Gabby continued shaking her head. “If your folks ain't comin' back here, I got not business staying,” she muttered. She hurried past Leigh to leave the room.

“Gabby!” Leigh exclaimed. She attempted to follow her cousin. “Just _wait-_ ”

“Leave it out!” Gabby shouted back. She reached the front door before Leigh could grab hold of her, and she bolted up the driveway and down the street.

“Gabby!” Leigh bellowed again. She raced up the pavement and gave chase, but the blonde girl had already made it to the park on the other side of the road. Leigh slowed to a halt as she reached the park's entrance, watching Gabby flee into the woodland area behind it. Even with her flashlight, it'd be hard to find Gabby in the darkness...but she couldn't let the teenager run off by herself at this time of night.

“ _Shit,_ ” Leigh whispered to herself.

How had Gabby even managed to get here? Did she take the train? Did she even have any money to be travelling? The last Leigh heard, her cousin lived in Scotland, so to have made it here all by herself was quite alarming.

“Shit!” Leigh cried out again, stomping the pavement angrily. This was _all_ she needed.

The only thing she could do was find her Uncle Ray's phone number and demand an explanation from him. With that thought in mind, Leigh made her way back to the house, hoping Gabby would return of her own accord when she calmed down.

Once inside, Leigh located a list of phone numbers her parents kept next to their phone. The hairdresser sighed and took out her mobile. She didn't know if Uncle Ray's old house number would work, but it was worth a shot. Bringing the phone to her ear, Leigh paced back and forth as she heard the seemingly endless ringing. After a few minutes, she was asked if she wanted to leave a message.

Leigh sighed softly, but spoke quickly. “Uncle Ray, it's Ashleigh. If you're there, I need to talk to you. It's important. Give me a call back on this number when you can, yeah?”

With that, Leigh put her phone away and ran a hand through her hair. There really wasn't anything else she could do for Gabby for the moment, so she decided to get back to the task she'd originally set out on.

The hairdresser frowned to herself. Where would there possibly be evidence of Amelia in this house? She figured she should start in the piles of old photographs her parents had in their back closet and work forward from there.

This was going to be a long night.

\--

Leigh wasn't the only one due for a long night. Shortly after the meeting with the sheriff concluded, Aila was put in a prison van designed to transport prisoners. After what felt like several hours, it departed for HMP Lochaire. A handful of other women had been placed in the van as well during the wait. They'd been sentenced that day, or were awaiting trial like Aila was.

The doctor completely ignored every other soul on the bus, instead retreating into her own thoughts. She was told she'd be allowed one free phone call when she got there, even if she figured Rat would have already heard the news. The hacker always seemed to stay one step ahead of the flow of information somehow.

Aila sighed, feeling like she should cry or scream, though all she could do was stare blankly out the window. She knew she'd have to steel herself up for this ordeal as much as possible. Aila assumed all the inmates at the prison would be just like Rachel and Daniel; violent, cold, detached, and out for blood. She didn't belong with the likes of them. It wasn't fair, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

The prison was located a good distance away from Glasgow. It was secluded, and surrounded by trees and open plains. The establishment looked quite large from the outside. Aila had been told it was a female-only prison as far as inmates were concerned, though officers could be either male or female.

Pulling in past the gates, the doctor did her best to ignore the staggering sense of fear that suddenly came over her heart. She tried not to look as scared as she felt, though she failed at hiding it.

The prisoners were instructed to gather their belongings and exit the vehicle. Aila noticed then that many of them had plastic bags full of clothes and other possessions. She only had the clothes she'd been wearing when she'd been arrested.

Aila was entirely grateful for her hoody as she stepped out into the cold night air, even if she didn't think the pink hearts would do much for her in this place. She didn't care though, resolving not to lose her sense of self to this place no matter what.

The group of prisoners were led into the door. Some of them chatted to themselves anxiously, while others seemed to try to remain upbeat. Aila vaguely wondered what the rest of them had done to land themselves here, though she figured she didn't really want to know.

The inside of the building was only marginally warmer than the air outside. The group was instructed to sit on a nearby bench and wait to be called up to the desk by name. Aila looked around as she took her place at the end of the bench.

One officer behind the desk caught Aila's attention after a moment. She looked to be quite old and a bit on the heavy side. She walked around back and forth, complaining about the temperature of the air, and how it was fine for inmates but not for the hardworking staff. The other prison officers seemed to be either ignoring her or rolling their eyes.

The woman then seemed to catch sight of Aila staring at her. She stared right back with wide eyes before shaking her head and muttering something to another staff member that sounded like 'chamber'. Aila had no idea what that meant, if anything. She supposed it didn't matter and simply kept her head down while waiting to be called forward.

The doctor found herself zoning out after a while, if only to distract herself from the sickening fear increasing in her gut. When her name was called out at last, she didn't hear it at first.

“ _MacPherson!_ ”

Aila's head snapped up instantly. She gazed around at the disapproving-looking officer behind the desk, who glared at Aila as if she was stupid.

“Well up you get!” she barked at the Scottish clone. “Come on, we haven't got all night!”

Aila resented the way this woman spoke to her already, but she got to her feet without argument and approached the desk. She watched the officer expectantly, briefly allowing her gaze to linger on her nametag. It read ' _Officer Holmes_ '.

“Name,” Holmes demanded.

Aila hesitated. She could see from the documents Holmes had on the desk before her that the officer already had Aila's details. Why on earth did she have to repeat them?

“Aila MacPherson,” Aila muttered anyway.

Holmes gave a very unimpressed huff, and pulled a face as though she tasted something bitter. “Says here you had a name change,” she commented, eyes fixed on her documents. “Mind you though, it's hardly surprising. Your sort always get unnecessary protection these days. It's about time you were banged up where you belong, if you ask me.”

Aila was deeply insulted, and she felt her fists clench tightly. She glared helplessly at the other officers in the room, but they all appeared distracted with whatever work they were doing, or decided they had no energy to challenge Holmes to shut up.

Instead, Aila forced herself to answer all of Holmes's questions, despite wanting nothing more than to put her in her place. This woman knew nothing about her; how dare she judge the situation so quickly?

But then, Aila reasoned, it was only going to get worse. If this was the attitude of the officers, Aila could only dread to think what the prisoners would be like.

“Right then,” Holmes stated when she finished checking Aila's information. She nodded to a curtain behind the desk. “Well go on then!”

Aila stared, baffled. “Wh-what?”

Holmes gave an extremely impatient groan. “ _Strip search!_ ” she exclaimed, annoyed at Aila's apparent cluelessness.

Aila stared in horrified silence. This _had_ to be a bad dream.

\--

Rachel Duncan was not pleased.

She'd returned home from DYAD that evening, making a point to tell Daniel to stay well away, with every intention of speaking to Leigh to make her understand her insistence that she find a job with DYAD. She didn't _mean_ to be impatient when Leigh left earlier, but Leigh had completely ignored her. She couldn't help feeling a little stung.

Her mood only worsened when she returned home to discover Leigh was still out. Then Rachel sat with her phone for almost an hour, glancing back and forth at the screen to see where her sister was. The hairdresser had been at Janet and Spencer's the entire time, and even as midnight neared, she didn't appear to move.

This was unacceptable and completely unfair. Whenever Rachel wanted to spend time with her sister, she was never there.

Rachel dialled Leigh's number as she poured herself a glass of wine. Had Leigh found something on Amelia after all? Whatever the case, Leigh better come home soon. Rachel wanted to make sure they were still on good terms.

The blonde waited impatiently, blinking slowly as her call went unanswered. Rachel stared down at the phone and redialled Leigh. Perhaps the hairdresser had simply set the phone down carelessly and hadn't reached it in time...the seconds passed though, and her second call went unanswered again.

Was Leigh angry with her? Was she ignoring her? No, that would be entirely illogical. Rachel had done nothing deserving of anger, had she? If anything, Rachel was the only one who had any right to be angry over what transpired earlier...though she wanted Leigh back even more now. She needed to make sure the hairdresser wasn't upset over what happened.

On the third try, Rachel left a message telling Leigh to call her back as soon as possible. Then she looked back at the program displaying Leigh's current location. The dot hadn't moved from its location in Janet and Spencer's old house.

Rachel sipped at her wine quickly as she stared at the dot. At times she wondered if she was being obsessive, though she always assured herself she was merely being rightfully protective of Leigh after everything that happened the year before.

When Rachel finished her wine, she saw that Leigh was still at the house despite it being nearly one now. Had she not gotten herself buzzed, Rachel might have gone to the house to check everything was all right, though in her current state, she could only stare at the phone and become more and more annoyed. Leigh had better come home soon...

\--

The search for any relevant information was tedious. Leigh hadn't found much, and the most interesting thing so far was a metal tin with a heavy padlock. The search then turned into a hunt to find something to smash it open with, but eventually, Leigh realised the key had been taped to the back of the tin the entire time.

Inside were documents and journals relating to Janet's pregnancy with Leigh and Rachel. There were contracts and forms from DYAD, complete with the Callinghams's signatures to prove they understood the experiment they were involving themselves in, and the consequences for exposing their children as clones to the outside world. There were even a few baby scan photos, which Leigh found extremely eerie to see.

It was hard, at times, believing she and Rachel were twins. Clearly though, there were two babies present on the scan. It felt surreal.

Leigh flicked the baby scan photos out of the way, and continued digging. There were even photos of the twins after their birth, which was something else Leigh didn't feel much like looking at for now.

A new photo caught Leigh's eye. She dipped the flashlight closer as she pulled it out. A man and woman were present, both wearing lab coats, in what looked like a clinical environment. A soldier stood behind them holding a weapon.

Leigh frowned. What did _this_ have to do with anything? She focused back on the scientists. There was something oddly familiar about the man and his glasses...

Leigh flipped the photo over. A label had been tacked to the back.

“Profs. Duncan and Duncan,” Leigh read quietly to herself. “Project Leda...July 22, 1977...”

Leigh froze for a moment, and then turned the photo over again to look at the scientists. Of _course_. These were Rachel's parents. Leigh couldn't remember them personally, but she'd seem them enough times on Rachel's video tapes.

Why did _Leigh's_ parents have this photo though? It seemed a bit out of place...

“Project Leda....” Leigh murmured. She looked at the back of the photo once more to stare at the information. “The hell's Project Leda?”

It must have something to do with the clones, surely. Why else would Janet and Spencer have this photo with all their other experiment documents?

Leigh threw everything back into the tin, including the photo of the Duncans, and closed it. Really, she thought as she locked the padlock and pocketed the key, her parents lacked common sense to leave all of this information here. It was silly to leave the key close by too. The house had been unattended for months, and people could break in to steal things. Gabby already _had_ broken in. If she, or anyone not involved with clones, came across this tin, it would mean all sorts of trouble.

Leigh picked up the tin and tucked it under her arm. She wasn't about to leave it lying around in an abandoned house where anyone could find it. She would take it home with her. Besides, Project Leda had caught her interest, even if it wasn't relevant to help find Amelia.

The hairdresser groaned softly and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She really should have done this during daylight hours. Staring at photographs and old journals and notes for hours under the dim light of a flashlight was incredibly straining on her eyes.

Not to mention it was nearly one in the morning and she was extremely tired. She debated sleeping here, though it wouldn't be ideal due to the freezing temperature of the house. She never appreciated the value of heating before, especially now in the dead of night in the middle of January.

She'd been sitting for far too long, she decided. She'd come back tomorrow when it was light.

The hairdresser was surprised to find Gabby asleep on the sofa. How had she not heard Gabby return? Even having sat in the back closet, she thought she should have heard something. Leigh reasoned it was probably due to being so focused on her task.

Leigh observed her cousin for a moment, frowning. The young girl was wrapped up in a blanket that looked like it had been stolen off of Janet and Spencer's bed, though she still shivered from the cold air. Leigh debated what she should do. She knew she could _not_ just leave her here like this.

Leigh hurried out to her car to put the tin in the boot. She didn't want Gabby seeing it. When it was safely hidden away, Leigh returned to the house.

“Oi...Gabby...” Leigh said softly, lightly shaking her shoulder.

The young girl darted awake, staring up at Leigh with wide eyes. “The fuck? Why're ya back here again? Thought you gone home ages ago!” she snapped.

Leigh frowned deeply, disapproving of Gabby's language use, though she let it slide this time. “No, I've been here the whole time. Listen, come back to my place with me. You can have a shower and a hot meal. I want to know why you're out here living like a homeless person, and I want to help you, if you'll let me,” she told her. She wasn't willing to stand by and do nothing while her cousin needed help.

Gabby considered Leigh's words for a few seconds, looking strangely disorientated as she recovered from her sleepy state. She swallowed hard and nodded. Leigh sighed in relief that her cousin was too tired to argue.

“Come on then,” Leigh muttered. She helped Gabby stand up and led her through the house towards the front door. They both remained silent until they were sitting in Leigh's car.

Gabby shivered as she put on the seatbelt in the passenger's seat while Leigh started up the engine. She glanced at the girl. “It'll warm up pretty quickly,” she assured her. Gabby said nothing, and Leigh quickly whipped out her phone, hoping to see that Ray had tried to call her back...but no such luck.

There were several missed calls from Rachel though, as well as a voice mail. Leigh swore quietly to herself. She'd been so busy she hadn't even noticed, but now she didn't know what to do. The last thing she wanted was to drag Gabby anywhere _near_ DYAD...surely that had to mean she couldn't tell Rachel about this either...

“We goin' or what?” Gabby spoke up then.

Leigh glanced at her and shoved her phone back in her pocket. Then she drove away, thinking hard about what she could tell Rachel instead. Leigh's house was closer to Janet and Spencer's than Rachel's apartment was...she could simply explain she decided to crash there for the night to save herself driving such a distance when she was so tired.

Leigh was extremely thankful for the light that flooded the living room when she and Gabby reached her house, and the instant warmth the place gave. It was instantly clear how exhausted Gabby was now Leigh could see her properly. She looked utterly pitiful.

Leigh held back a sigh. “When was the last time you ate?” Gabby shrugged. Leigh stared. “Are you hungry now?”

“A bit,” Gabby grumbled.

Leigh nodded. “I'll show you how the shower works and make you something to eat.”

“Really?” Gabby asked.

Leigh continued to stare. “I wasn't going to leave you there in that state, was I? I'll save the questioning for tomorrow. You need a good night's sleep.”

Gabby did everything Leigh asked without protest. Leigh fetched towels and clean clothes for the girl to use after her shower, though the clothes were a bit too big on Gabby's skinny frame. She didn't seem to care though, instead seeming pleased to have something comfortable to sleep in. Leigh brought blankets and pillows down to make up a bed on the sofa and proceeded to make food.

Gabby ate quickly when she came down from her shower, proving just how hungry she really was. Leigh frowned as she watched her. What on _earth_ had happened to cause all this?

“Where's Janet and Spencer?” Gabby asked later as she settled down on the sofa with the blankets.

Leigh shook her head. “Like I said, they don't live around here anymore. Look, I said we'll leave the questions until tomorrow. That goes both ways, yeah?”

Gabby was asleep soon enough, sheer exhaustion getting the better of her. Leigh took out her phone again. It was now nearing three o'clock, but she felt as though she couldn't sleep. A surge of paranoia told her Gabby might get up and run off again before Leigh could question her, and Leigh was absolutely not going to let that happen.

Leigh sat herself down in the armchair by the fireplace after making herself a cup of tea. She stared hard at her phone. Rachel was probably asleep by now, but Leigh didn't want her to think she was ignoring her. She didn't want Rachel or DYAD to think she was up to anything suspicious that would warrant them coming over to cause a scene. She dialled Rachel's number.

“Hi Rachel...listen, I only just got your messages. You're probably asleep...erm, I'm staying at my own place, though you probably already know that...I'll explain tomorrow. See you soon.”

Leigh hung up after leaving the message. How on earth was she going to explain this one?

\--

The following morning, Rat sat on her bed in silence. It was early, and Lucas was still asleep. The hacker stared blankly at her computer screen, which displayed a news article detailing Aila's arrest. She'd hoped the doctor would get out on bail that they could pay off, but no such luck.

What was even worse now was that Aila would be forced to wait in prison for a trial that could take _months_ to put together and go through. Could they wait that long? Maybe Aila was right...maybe Rat _should_ just go and find Beth and Katja before refocusing her efforts on getting Aila out of prison.

“This sucks...” she muttered, bringing her knees up to her chest as she rested her head on her arms.

Suddenly, a flash of orange at the bottom of her screen caught her attention. The hacker brought up her Skype, and was stunned to see a message from Danielle displayed on the screen. It read, _'Juste une. Je suis un peu. Aucune famille aussi. Qui suis-je?'_. It was the personal code of the clones, written out in French to let Rat know she was likely speaking with the real Danielle.

_'Un abandonné cloner,'_ Rat typed back.

A moment later, a video call request was sent. Rat accepted the call, and was pleased to see the French clone's face. Danielle looked exhausted, but happy as she waved.

“Where the flamin' hell have you _BEEN_ woman?!” Rat asked loudly before Danielle could speak, seeming to take the French clone by surprise. Rat didn't mean to snap at her, but she couldn't help it as her stress over Aila bled into frustration over having not heard from Danielle in nearly three months.

Danielle bowed her head slightly. “Désolé...I 'ave been...preoccupied wiz personal matters, and could not contact you before now...I wanted to zough, and was 'appy to finally 'ave a chance to tell you what was going on.”

Rat sighed slightly, forcing herself to calm down and listen. “OK, so where have you been all this time?”

The French clone was silent for a moment, and even looked self conscious in Rat's opinion, before she spoke quietly. “I...eh....I 'ave been trying out...erm...what is English word...la réhabilitation des toxicomanes.”

Rat blinked slowly, stunned. “You've been in _rehab?_ For real?” she asked, her anger deflating completely in that moment.

“Oui,” Danielle nodded. “After leaving Paris, I started zinking about my life, and realised zat I did not want to live like I 'ave been...plus I did not know where to go to buy zee stuff in zis city anyway...I zought zat it was worth a shot, since to be 'onest I was feeling like I was going crazy wiz zee withdrawals...” She shuddered slightly. “It 'as not been fun...it still is not, but I am trying...” Danielle held her hand up then, which shook and twitched slightly on its own. “I 'ave made progress zough, I zink. Initially, I was not allowed any outside contact, but now I am, so zey seem to zink things are better for me now zan zey were at first.”

“Jesus...that's really good. I'm proud of you,” Rat told her seriously, and Danielle's eyes seemed to light up a bit at the hacker's praise. “You still in Geneva then?”

“Oui,” Danielle nodded.

Rat nodded. “Any idea when you'll be able to join us?”

Danielle shrugged. “I am 'oping soon, zough I do not know. You are in Canada now, oui? Or still in London?”

“None of the above,” Rat said dryly. “I'm in Scotland right this second. A _lot_ of crap has happened since we last spoke.”

Danielle listened with wide eyes as Rat filled her in on everything that had happened over the last few months, from Aila being taken away by DYAD, to Leigh's death and Aila's imprisonment, to Beth and Katja's disappearances.

“So yeah, now me and Lucas are just trying to figure out what to do...” the Swiss clone muttered with a sigh, glancing over at the German man who still seemed to be asleep. Rat watched Danielle for a moment or two. “I'm taking it you haven't heard from Kyle.”

“No,” Danielle confirmed, shaking her head. “I...to be 'onest, I do feel...guilty...at zee time, I was so angry at zee entire situation, but now...well, I do not know if 'e zinks I am dead, like zee rest of France does...”

Rat nodded, feeling an internal coldness suddenly. Kyle had seemed quite pushy and arrogant, but he seemed genuinely distraught to learn of his girlfriend's disappearance. Rat hadn't even spared a thought for him since getting Aila back and having to deal with everything else.

“I wouldn't advise contacting him,” Rat told Danielle bluntly, yet she tried to sound gentle as well. “He could still be working for DYAD for all we know, and _they_ think you're dead too. I'm pretty sure they're under the impression Helena got to you...and contacting Kyle could expose the truth, and trust me, you do _not_ want to be hunted down by DYAD.”

Danielle could only nod. From what she knew about DYAD and the Proletheans, it _was_ better for both organisations to believe she was dead. That way she was safe from being tracked by this Helena psychopath too.

“You just focus on your recovery,” Rat told Danielle in a more optimistic voice. “It's good to hear from you, Danielle, but _please_ keep in touch from now on.”

“I will,” Danielle promised.

“Good,” Rat said with a sigh of relief. “Oh – hang on a minute...”

Rat's phone rang from somewhere across the room, and the hacker flailed as she tried to find it. The ringing was enough to pull Lucas from his slumber. The German grunted as he rolled over and pulled himself up, looking vaguely confused.

Rat darted to the wall opposite where she'd left her phone on charge and picked it up. It showed a number she didn't recognise, and she hesitated to answer it.

“Vell?” Lucas asked as he stood up and rubbed his head. He glanced anxiously at Rat's laptop where Danielle's face was still displayed. The French clone looked confused.

“I...” Rat began. The phone stopped ringing just as she considered answering. The hacker frowned and wandered back over to the laptop.

“Everything OK?” Danielle asked.

“Yeah...I dunno,” Rat grumbled. “Oh – hang on,” she said again. “Danielle, just give me a minute...”

“Erm, OK,” Danielle responded.

Rat turned to look at Lucas. “Whoever was calling has left a voice mail,” she told him.

Lucas shrugged. “So listen to it,” he suggested.

Rat paused, but the determined stare Lucas gave her encouraged her to check the voice mail. A familiar Scottish voice greeted her ears.

“ _Hey Rat, it's me...fuck, sorry. This is the only free call they're giving me and I just...you were the only one I_ could _call, but I probably should have figured you'd be nervous to answer...anyway...you won't be able to call me back, so it'll have to wait until I get a phone card...which will be soon, I hope...anyway, just wanted to let you know I'm fine. OK...bye._ ”

The phone went dead after that, and Rat could only mentally kick herself. Aila needed support, and it hadn't even crossed the hacker's mind that it might be her on the other end of the mysterious number. Rat sighed heavily, sitting down on the bed. There were so many things she needed to focus on all at once, and it was hard to keep up with everything changing so fast.

Lucas frowned and lightly put a hand on her shoulder. “Vat do you vant to do now?”

Rat shrugged helplessly. “What the hell _can_ I do now but wait for her to call again?” she mumbled pathetically.

Danielle frowned, not liking seeing Rat so...lost. It wasn't like her, but the French clone wasn't sure what she could say to help her. She couldn't believe Aila was in prison at all. She wasn't particularly close to the doctor, especially after the skating incident, but Danielle knew she had a good heart.

Rat glanced between Danielle and Lucas then, realising the two had never been introduced. “Lucas, this is Danielle. She's from France,” she said with a general wave towards the screen. “Danielle, Lucas is an ally of ours. He was originally going to be Katja's father...and mine...before things changed.”

“Hallo,” Lucas said politely with a short wave.

“Bonjour,” Danielle responded. She was surprised to learn this person was Rat's dad, technically.

Rat nodded, running a hand through her hair before turning her attention back to Danielle properly. There was nothing she could do for Aila but wait now, and while that fact annoyed her, she had to admit it was nice to have gotten at least one of her clone sisters back for the time being.

Only two left to go.

\--

Aila looked around in silence as she anxiously waited. After being given her free call, the Scottish clone had been told to wait in the dormitory area where she and the other prisoners spent the night. An officer informed them they'd be led out onto C-Wing once everyone finished making their calls.

Aila hadn't slept, and it seemed like few others did either. She'd been too scared to have any chance of resting, instead listening to some of the other inmates who spent the night talking quietly. They asked each other what their crime was, and how long they were in for, but Aila didn't speak to them. She pretended to be asleep when one of them tried to get her attention.

Aila absently rubbed her arm to soothe the ache in it, which she noticed was becoming a nervous habit. One of the other inmates who had already made her call eyed the doctor. “What you in for then, eh?”

Aila stared at her, before averting her gaze. Realistically, she knew it would be impossible not to converse with the other inmates at some point. She figured she could at least try to be polite, until anyone started being aggressive.

“The courts think I killed someone,” Aila said carefully, trying to hide her fear again as she spoke. She knew it was obvious, though.

The inmate smirked slightly. “But ya didn't, eh? That what ya gonna say next?”

Aila remained silent. Speaking had been a mistake, she decided.

“Well, whatever happened, best stop lookin' like ya gonna wet yerself, love. Gotta be tough with some of these girls. Ya can't let 'em scare ya; can't let 'em get under your skin. Because if ya do that, ya gonna end up bein' somebody's bitch. Even though in my opinion, them blasted screws will _always_ be worse than the cons.”

“Screws?” Aila asked before she could stop herself. She couldn't help but wonder how many times this woman had been in prison. She seemed to be entirely at ease and seemed to know about the place.

“The officers,” the woman explained. “We call them 'screws'. Cause they always try an' screw us all over. Like that Holmes, for example. Fat cow likes to pretend she's above us just cause she's on the 'right' side of the line, and'll do anythin' to make sure ya know it.”

Aila frowned. She remembered Officer Holmes vividly, and had to admit she didn't like the way the woman had spoken to her. “Aye, I met her. Didn't like her one bit.”

“No one does,” the woman grinned. “Just gotta ignore that one for the most part.”

“Noted,” Aila said quietly.

Just then, a female officer walked in and looked around. She was middle-aged with thick blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and a messy fringe. “Right you lot, up you get,” she said. “Make sure you've got your belongings and follow me.”

“Time to head out,” the other inmate chuckled softly.

Aila glanced at her, realising that talking with her hadn't been as bad as she feared it might be. “Oi, what's your name?”

The woman glanced back at her. “Jen. Yours?”

“Aila.”

Jen grinned. “Nice to meetcha. Maybe I'll see ya 'round on the wing sometime.”

Aila nodded and quietly made her way over to the officer to wait while everyone else gathered up their things. Aila glanced at the officer's name tag. It read ' _Officer Howard_ ', but Aila didn't have time to see what rank this officer was. She'd noticed Howard staring up at her, and quickly tore her gaze from the name tag. When she looked up to meet Howard's stare, she was surprised to see the curious and disbelieving look on the officer's face.

It made Aila uncomfortable, and rather confused.

Aila took a deep breath and steeled herself up as much as she could. She convinced herself that if she could take being starved and tortured by Rachel Duncan, she could take anything that happened in this place.

The walk out to the wing was a short one. The walls and floor of the entire place seemed to be various shades of beige. Even the bars separating sections of the hallway were painted beige. As they got closer, the sounds of many voices greeted their ears. Chatting, laughing...if Aila didn't know any better, she might have thought this was some kind of social gathering. It was nothing like the various horrific scenarios she'd been picturing in her mind.

When the group passed through the bars and stood in what almost looked like a school lunchroom, the wing fell silent as curious eyes took in the newest arrivals. Officer Howard ushered them forward though, leading each woman to her assigned cell. Aila felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at, though after a few minutes, the other inmates resumed chatting as they had been.

It looked as though there were three levels of cells, divided by stairs and metal grates that served as walkways. Aila's cell was on the second level. When she was led into the room, she noticed there were two beds. One was empty and made up, while the other looked like it had already been claimed. Both beds had identical dressers next to them. There was also a small toilet off to the side, only offering a minimal amount of privacy from a short sheet of metal blocking it off.

“You'll be in here, sharing with Diriscoul,” Howard told her, sounding rather bored in Aila's opinion.

“What's she like?” Aila asked before she could help herself.

Howard considered the question for a moment. She continued watching Aila carefully, barely even blinking, as though somehow fascinated by her.

Then, Howard snapped herself out of it, shrugged, and managed to look bored again. “All right, I suppose, as long as she's not with Chamberlyn.”

“Who?” Aila asked, but Howard had already turned and walked out of the cell.

Aila sighed, sitting down on the unclaimed bed. It was cold, but surprisingly soft. The doctor bowed her head and closed her eyes tightly before glancing up out of the small window near the bed. After a moment, Aila lay down and rested her head on the pillow, exhaustion suddenly hitting her out of nowhere.

She didn't _want_ to sleep. She felt unsafe doing so, but after being awake and mentally strained for nearly three days, she found she couldn't fight it anymore. She only hoped everyone else would stay on the lower level and leave her alone.


	6. Chapter 5

Leigh somehow managed to stay awake through the night and into the morning. She was completely exhausted, but she knew she had to do it if she wanted to make sure Gabby was safe. She periodically checked on her cousin, who was still asleep on the sofa, to make sure she didn't try to run off. Leigh again wondered how long it'd been since the young girl had slept somewhere warm and safe.

When the sun was fully up, Leigh wandered into her kitchen to make a start on breakfast. Just as she grabbed a pan, her phone rang in her pocket. The hairdresser picked it up, and was surprised to see Uncle Ray's number displayed. Perhaps now she could get some answers about why Gabby was here.

“Hello?” Leigh asked, putting the phone to her ear.

“Ashleigh?” a gruff voice asked curtly.

“Uncle Ray?”

“Obviously,” Ray said dryly. “This better be important.”

Leigh scowled. There was no need for him to sound so nasty towards her. “Yeah, it _is_ important, actually,” she snapped. “Look, I found Gabby last night. I want to know why she's down here looking like she's been through hell.”

The line was silent for a moment, before Ray scoffed. “So _that's_ where she's run off to then? Damn kid...whatever, I don't care. _Don't_ bring her back here. She's _your_ problem now. Have fun with her piss poor attitude and colourful as a fucking rainbow vocabulary,” he said harshly.

Then the line went dead.

Leigh could only stare at her phone with wide eyes for several moments. Shock, disgust, and raw anger coursed through her. She recalled Gabby saying that 'he' didn't want her, and avoided the question of if she was talking about her father.

It was clear now that was exactly who she was talking about. But _why_ didn't he want her? What could possess a father to speak that way about his own daughter? Leigh couldn't comprehend abandoning a child like that.

“Fucking _perfect..._ ” the hairdresser grumbled, kicking the kitchen cabinet absently. She was meant to be looking into Amelia, but she _couldn't_ leave her cousin alone.

What could she do but call Ray again and attempt to talk some sense into him? At the very least, Leigh felt as though she deserved an explanation...and if Ray wouldn't take Gabby back, Leigh wasn't about to toss her out on the streets...but she couldn't take her back to Rachel's place either.

That was the absolute last thing she was going to do.

“Fuck's _sake!_ ” Leigh hissed, slamming the pan down on the counter. Worry and paranoia where DYAD was concerned always lay in the back of Leigh's mind. It was enough to deal with without something like this happening as well.

And then Leigh's eyes fell to the living room, where what little belongings Gabby had with her lay by the foot of the sofa. The teenager's mobile phone was visible on top of the bag. Leigh knew she shouldn't, but she was desperate.

Leigh darted into the living room, careful not to wake Gabby, though she was sure the teen remained undisturbed. Gabby was still fast asleep. Leigh carefully leaned down and snatched up the phone to look through the list of contacts.

It wasn't long before she found what she was looking for. If Ray was going to be difficult, Gabby's brother Jake was Leigh's best bet.

The hairdresser crept out of the room and back towards the kitchen to make the call. It was answered almost right away.

“Gabs? Wassup? It's like, mega early.”

Leigh hesitated with bated breath. “Jake?”

“Huh? Who's _this?_ Where's Gabby?”

“Jake – it's Ashleigh.”

A pause followed. Leigh heard her cousin gasp over the phone.

“Ashleigh? Shit, long time no see! Wait, why you on Gabby's phone? What's happened?”

“Look, calm down,” Leigh spoke firmly. It was so strange hearing Jake's grown up voice. The last time Leigh saw him, he was just a child. “Gabby's at my place in London, and-”

“I knew it,” Jake growled now. “That bastard went and kicked her out, didn't he? _Didn't he?_ ”

Leigh was extremely stunned. “Jake...I need to know what's been going on.”

“Why the shittin' hell didn't Gabs call me? I told her to, day or night if he ever gave her a hard time – shit – Ashleigh, what's she told you?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Leigh told him. “And your dad's not been much help either.”

Jake gave an impatient sigh. “I'm comin' to get her,” he said defiantly. “Can you just...make sure she don't _go_ anywhere? I'm in Scotland; it's gonna take me all day – but we need to sort this out-”

“I can help if you just _tell me_ what's happened,” Leigh interrupted.

“It's complicated. Wait...shit, you really don't know? Even after all this time?”

“Don't know _what?_ ” Leigh demanded.

Another pause.

“Never mind; I ain't tellin' you over the damn phone. Text me your address...only _don't_ tell her I'm comin' to get her! She'll only do another runner-”

“ _Why?_ What's she running from?”

“ _Please_ Ashleigh!” Jake said desperately now. “I'll tell you everythin' when I see you, honest!”

Leigh closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. A headache was growing, and she was sure it would be unbearable by the end of the day. “Fine,” she sighed in defeat. “I'll text you my number in a min. Keep me updated throughout the day so I know where you are.”

“Will do,” Jake said.

The call ended. Leigh glanced around to make sure Gabby was still asleep and quickly added Jake's number to her own phone. Then she erased the recent call history on Gabby's phone to delete any evidence of Leigh using it.

Gabby awoke a short while after Leigh replaced the phone, looking much more alive than she had the night before. Leigh glanced at her and forced a smile. “Hey. Sleep well?”

Gabby made an incoherent noise, avoiding eye contact. Leigh frowned. She knew she needed to get back to Rachel's so the blonde didn't freak out and show up here. Would Gabby stay put though? Leigh was sure being in here was far better than being on the street, so there was no reason Gabby would leave.

Leigh nodded to her. “Look, I've gotta go to work,” she lied. “You're welcome to stay here and relax for as long as you need to, right? You're welcome to the food, the TV, shower...anything you need. I'll be back later on today. Just... _please_ don't run off again, all right? I wasn't lying when I said I want to help you, if you'll let me.”

Gabby merely nodded and looked around the house, still looking half asleep. Leigh watched her for a moment longer, before grabbing her coat and walking out the door.

\--

Leigh walked into Rachel's apartment silently, looking around. She knew Rachel would already be gone for the day, but she wouldn't put it past the blonde to leave Daniel or someone else hanging around to keep an eye on her when she decided to turn up. Leigh didn't have the energy for it though, and so she tried to get to her bedroom as quickly and quietly as possible.

She figured she could sleep for a bit at the apartment before returning to the house to meet with Jake. She had a bad feeling over whatever he was going to tell her, and wanted to be completely coherent for that meeting. She only hoped Gabby wouldn't run off in the meantime.

“Hello Ashleigh.”

Leigh jumped slightly, looking around to see Rachel sitting at the dining table in front of her laptop. The blonde's gaze was locked on her, boring into her very soul with its intensity.

“The _fuck_ Rachel? Thought you were at work?” Leigh said, slightly unnerved by the look on her twin's face. She somehow seemed even more robotic than usual.

“Why did you not return last night?” Rachel asked.

Leigh stared at her. “I stayed at my parents' house until late and decided to crash at mine because it was closer. Why, is that against the _rules?_ ” she asked dryly.

“You do not look rested,” Rachel stated. “Do not lie to me.”

Leigh groaned slightly and sighed. She didn't have the energy for this, and she needed to sleep. “Fine. I _did_ go there because it was closer, but I didn't sleep. I had to help Gabby.”

Rachel arched an eyebrow. “Gabby?” she repeated. “As in your cousin?”

“Yes. Look, she _needed_ help, all right? She was in my parents' house and looked dead rough. I think her dad kicked her out of her house and she was hoping to shack up with my parents. They don't live there anymore though, do they? I wasn't about to leave her there...”

“Why did you not bring her back here with you? Where is she now?” Rachel asked.

Leigh hesitated. She knew she offended Rachel yesterday after refusing to consider DYAD careers. Would Rachel be offended again if Leigh admitted wanting to keep Gabby away from all things DYAD?

“Leigh?” Rachel asked, sounding concerned now.

“She's still back at mine. She's safe, and Jake is coming by later on to get her. It'll take him a while to drive down from Scotland though. I knew you'd be worried so I told her I was going to work and said she was welcome to my food and TV and whatever else while I came back here,” Leigh told her.

Rachel stared. She wanted to question Leigh further about this, but her sister really did look tired. “So you shall be going back there later?” she asked instead.

Leigh nodded and collapsed on the sofa. “Yeah. I want to know what's going on and I want to make sure she goes back with Jake safely. Why aren't you at work?”

Rachel said nothing. She promptly abandoned her laptop, stood from the table and crossed the room to sit with Leigh on the sofa. She didn't meet Leigh's gaze for a while, instead staring at the floor while trying to find the words to express herself. She was relieved Leigh hadn't been ignoring her on purpose. Expressing such things took great effort from Rachel Duncan, though, so she remained quiet and simply remained sitting next to her sister.

When, at last, Rachel looked up to say something, Leigh was fast asleep. Rachel rolled her eyes impatiently and shook her head as she stood up to return to her laptop.

\--

Aila didn't know how much time had passed since she went to sleep. She slowly opened her eyes, confused at first to hear the sounds of talking all around her. It took her a minute to remember where she was, but when she did, she bolted upright and looked around. Daylight still shone through the window, so she knew she couldn't have slept _that_ long.

It only took a moment for Aila to notice someone looking at her curiously. There was another woman lying across the other bed in the cell. She had dark skin and long, curly brown hair. Was this her cellmate?

“Yo! Finally awake then? It ain't often a new gal gets here and just goes to sleep,” the woman commented, looking amused. “Name's Saffi. What's yours?”

“Uh...Aila,” the doctor introduced herself uneasily. Saffi? What kind of name was that?

Saffi looked at her curiously. “Man, just lookin' atcha, I can tell you ain't nothin' like Morgan,” she commented. “Ya her sister then? Must be, right? Stupid question.”

“Morgan?” Aila asked, still waking up. Who was Morgan? Why did this girl think she was Aila's sister?

Unless...

Aila paused. There was _no_ way another clone was in here.

Saffi stood up quickly, and it was only then that Aila noticed how tall she was. She had to be a good half a foot taller than Aila, if not more.

“You stay put right there,” Saffi told her, before walking out of the cell.

Aila watched her leave uneasily, though she figured she didn't want to go anywhere anyway. She wasn't anywhere _close_ to ready to go out and meet the general population yet.

Standing and stretching, the doctor frowned and looked out the small window. She wanted to see the sky. She'd barely been in prison a day and already hated this place. Inwardly, Aila decided she would just avoid the other inmates as much as possible. It wouldn't be possible to ignore them forever, but she didn't want to be friends either. She wasn't like them. She didn't deserve to be made to live with them.

The sudden presence of a hand on her shoulder made Aila jump hard and whip around, expecting some nasty inmate to want to pick a fight with her. The sight that greeted her though was far more familiar, if not disturbing in its own right.

Stood before her was a woman who bore the unmistakable face of a clone.

This clone had shoulder-length, dark, chestnut-coloured hair, and wore bright red lipstick that stood out greatly against her skin. She wore a long-sleeved reddish-purple shirt and a long black skirt.

“Holy _shite,_ ” Aila couldn't help but gasp as she eyed her double.

So it _was_ true then. She never expected to run into a clone _here_ of all places. The other clone didn't seem quite as surprised, but she did seem rather curious. She tilted her head to the side slightly, a light half-smile on her lips.

“Forgive me for startling you...I heard there was a new girl in here who looked exactly like me, and wanted to see for myself,” she said, speaking in a North American accent. “You were asleep when I first looked in on you, so I asked Saffi to retrieve me when you awoke.”

Her voice was completely calm as she spoke, and Aila couldn't help feeling a bit silly for freaking out this time when she hadn't even reacted like that the first time she saw Leigh.

Leigh...

Aila didn't want to think about Leigh anymore. Instead, she focused on this new clone and smiled slightly, offering a hand to her.

“What's your name? I'm Aila MacPherson,” she said politely. She guessed from what Saffi said that this clone must be Morgan, but she allowed the other woman to introduce herself anyway.

“Morgan Chamberlyn,” the other clone responded, lightly grasping Aila's hand. Aila recalled Officer Howard saying something about an inmate called Chamberlyn. She realised that must be why Howard looked so surprised at Aila's existence.

“Nice to meet ya,” Aila said, sitting down on the bed again. She invited Morgan to do the same.

“Sorry if you have been asked this twenty times already, but what are you in for, Aila?” Morgan asked once she was comfortable. She looked at Aila with almost childlike curiosity.

Aila sighed heavily. “They...think I killed someone just because the body was found in my apartment, even though I was somewhere completely different at the time,” she said quietly before looking at the other clone. “What about you? How long have you been here for?”

“A few months,” Morgan shrugged, the light smile never leaving her face. “In for what they claim to be 'medical negligence'. Rubbish, really. Someone died on my operating table and the family decided to sue out of anger over it. They had enough funds to win, unfortunately, and so here I am.”

“You're a _doctor?_ ” Aila asked, a genuine smile crossing her lips for the first time in what felt like forever. She immediately felt a kinship with Morgan that stretched past just being clones. What were the chances of the other clone sharing Aila's passion?

“More specifically a surgeon, but yes,” Morgan nodded. “What do you do for a living?”

“I worked in A&E,” Aila told her. “Before this whole mess, anyway.”

The surgeon seemed quite interested now, smiling warmly as her eyes lit up. “Really? How exciting. What are the odds of us both being of the medical field?” she chuckled lightly. “If you like, I can show you around this place later. It's not too hard to get settled in once you get used to it.”

Aila smiled and nodded. “That'd be great. Cheers,” she said, somehow comforted by the mere presence of another clone. And another medical professional, of all things.

It was nice, Aila realised, having another one of her genetic identicals nearby. She'd become used to being around other clones in the past year. Being without them made her feel even lonelier while going through the legal processes that landed her in prison.

She found talking to Morgan to be surprisingly easy. Morgan didn't seem surprised at all about sharing a face, and Aila supposed Morgan assumed they were twins. Aila decided she could play along with that as well. There was no real reason to tell Morgan about her status as a clone yet. She wouldn't believe it without proof Aila didn't have access to anyway.

Suddenly, a thought struck Aila. If Morgan was an inmate here, that meant her monitor must be here as well – either an inmate, or even an officer. That meant DYAD would know for sure that Aila was banged up here soon enough, if they didn't already. Aila could only sigh at this revelation, knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

Morgan tilted her head to the side slightly at Aila's sigh. “Something the matter, dearie?”

Aila smiled and shook her head. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something,” she said. “So, is there anything fun we're allowed to do in here?”

“Well...that depends on what you define as 'fun', I suppose. There is a pool table, and a chess area...I often enjoy passing the time by playing chess with whoever is willing to. There is a library as well, and a computer area...those must be worked for though with good behaviour.”

“Any place to exercise?” Aila asked hopefully.

Morgan chuckled lightly. “Yes, there is a fitness area outside, as well as a garden they allow you to go into for a few hours every day. Rights to them both will be revoked for bad behaviour though.”

Aila nodded, smiling. At least she'd be able to stay in shape while she had to be in here.

Suddenly, another inmate walked into the room, looking between the two clones. She seemed surprised to see their identical faces, but she focused on Morgan. “Sorry, I don't mean to bother ya...”

Morgan tilted her head to the side as she raised an eyebrow at the other inmate. “Well...don't then?” she offered calmly.

“It's almost time for shift. The Wing Gov wanted me to come get ya.”

“I see,” Morgan said with a soft sigh. She glanced at Aila. “Forgive me, dearie. Duty calls. Later on I can give you a tour, as promised.”

Aila nodded. “Yeah, no worries,” she told Morgan. She found herself wondering what 'duty' Morgan was talking about. She made a mental note to inquire about it later when Morgan wasn't busy.

Morgan nodded and stood, walking towards the door of the cell before glancing back at her double. “Oh, and do remember to eat at some point, or they'll make you go without.” She gave a reassuring smile and a small wave.

When Morgan was gone, Aila stretched and lay down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe this wouldn't be _quite_ as bad as she thought after all.

\--

Leigh hadn't slept well. It was hardly surprising after nodding off on the sofa, only to jump awake an hour or two later to the sound of her phone going off. She'd received a text message from Jake, telling her he was on his way. Leigh briefly worried about the young man texting while driving, and made a point to tell him to update her when he stopped in a safe place.

The hairdresser didn't go back to sleep after that. It was quite hard with Rachel throwing her curious (and rather scary, in Leigh's opinion) looks whenever her phone went off, and Leigh decided she wouldn't sleep much anyway, even if she went to her bedroom. Instead, Leigh got up to make food and tea before showering and getting ready to leave again.

Jake was still a good few hours away, but Leigh worried about leaving Gabby alone for too long. Explaining this to Rachel was a difficult matter, though.

“I _had_ wanted to discuss a number of things with you,” Rachel said as Leigh got ready to leave. “I did not expect you to be leaving so soon.”

Leigh stared at her as she pulled on her coat. “You've had all day to talk to me, but you've been on that laptop doing God knows what.”

“I have been _working,_ ” Rachel said impatiently. “Please do not stay out too late again.”

“It'll take as long as it takes,” Leigh firmly told her sister.

Leigh was gone in an instant without saying goodbye. This dismissive and cold attitude was exactly what Rachel wanted to talk to her about, but she had no idea how to even bring the issue up.

Meanwhile, it never even crossed Leigh's mind that her behaviour might be bothering Rachel. Gabby was all she could think about right now, and it was easy to push everything and everyone else aside until she was sure the young girl was safe.

She was glad to find Gabby in her house when she returned that afternoon. The teenager was sprawled out on the sofa, having apparently decided to have a lazy day watching the TV. She jumped up straight at the sound of Leigh coming through the front door though, and fixed her cousin with a fierce glare.

“About time,” she grumbled bitterly.

Leigh stared at her. “Yeah, sorry. I'm here now though, and we need to talk.”

Gabby shrugged and huffed. Leigh approached, snatched up the TV remote, and switched the TV off.

“Oi! I was watchin' that!” Gabby complained.

“Yeah, well now you're talking to _me,_ ” Leigh told her. “I want to know why your dad kicked you out.”

“That's none of your business,” Gabby insisted.

Leigh sighed. “Look...I want to help. But I can't if I don't understand what's been happening.”

Gabby frowned at her. “Why'd you even _care?_ I hardly even _remember_ you. You didn't even recognise _me_ at first, did ya? Only Janet and Spencer can help me.”

“And I told you, they're not here,” Leigh sighed once more. “But I _am_ , whether you like it or not.”

“Where _are_ they? There's somethin' you ain't tellin' me; I know it,” Gabby said bluntly. She pushed aside the blankets and stood from the sofa, stretching a bit. She turned to glare down at Leigh. “Where you been?”

Leigh hesitated. “Work. I already told you.”

Gabby's eyes narrowed. “You're wearin' different clothes,” she pointed out.

Leigh glanced down at herself and swore under her breath. “Yeah, so what?”

“You ain't been to _work,_ ” Gabby hissed. “I bet you been with your parents. _Why_ won't you let me see 'em? Why don't they wanna see me? It's dead important!”

Leigh was entirely lost now. She stood up to try and calm Gabby down, but Gabby angrily shoved Leigh's hand away. “Gabby...Janet and Spencer are _not here_. They're not even in the country anymore...”

“So where _are they?_ ” Gabby demanded.

“I can't tell you that,” Leigh said a little too quickly. She had no idea what she was supposed to say without mentioning DYAD or the clones...but she also knew Gabby was not going to explain what was going on if Leigh didn't offer some type of explanation for her parents' absence. She would just have to keep Gabby calm until Jake turned up...somehow.

“You _can't_ , or you _won't?_ ” Gabby demanded, pulling Leigh out of her thoughts. “Betcha you're just holdin' out on me like everyone else! I'll find 'em sooner or later, with or without ya!”

Leigh bit back a groan. “I'm not holding out on you at all. Why would you even _think_ that? I'm not lying when I say my parents aren't even in the country anymore...I just can't tell you why because it's insanely complex and wouldn't help you anyway!”

Gabby glared at her darkly, huffed and looked like she wanted to argue, but then snatched the remote back to turn the TV back on. Leigh glared at her, but decided she didn't have the energy to argue.

At least the TV might keep Gabby quiet and occupied for a few hours. Leigh took out her phone, checking the time. She hoped Jake would arrive sooner rather than later.

The following hour was extremely tense, and often broken up by snide comments and short arguments that left both girls feeling rather frustrated at the other's lack of information. Finally, a knock sounded at the door. Leigh glanced over and hoped it was Jake and not anyone else.

When she opened the door, she came face to face with a handsome young man with short dark hair and deep navy blue eyes. He was finishing off a cigarette, which he tossed to the ground and stepped on before grinning at her.

“Ashleigh! Man, I ain't seen you in forever! When did you go...orange?” he asked, looking at the clone's brightly coloured hair.

Leigh smirked slightly, but before she could respond, she heard a loud gasp from behind her. Gabby stood a few feet away, her eyes wide and enraged as she glared accusingly at Leigh.

“The _fuck's_ he doin' here?!” Gabby demanded.

Jake gave a small wave and an awkward smile. “Hey Gabs, don't be mad at 'er. You shoulda come to me in the first place,” he told her firmly.

Leigh invited Jake inside and closed the door behind him, before turning to look at the two. “Right then, now that we're all here, can someone _please_ tell me what the hell is going on?”

“I ain't tellin' you _shit,_ ” Gabby said stubbornly, folding her arms. She slumped back on the sofa. “Not until you tell me where Janet and Spencer are.”

Jake gave an impatient sigh. “Gabby, why you takin' it out on _her?_ She wants to help!”

“Well she's doin' a shit job if she won't tell me nothin'!”

“ _Gabby!_ ” Leigh bellowed, feeling quite insulted now.

“And I ain't goin' back with you Jake, so you can forget it!”

“Where else you gonna _go,_ Gabby?” Jake asked her sternly. “If Janet and Spencer ain't around, you only got Ashleigh to shack up with, and if that's the case, she needs to _know!_ ”

“You _can't_ go back to living rough,” Leigh added. “What are you so afraid of?”

Gabby's eyes darted between Jake and Leigh. She looked lost for words. “Don't you dare tell her, Jake, or I'll tell her what _you_ are.”

“Don't start turnin' this 'round on me,” Jake said tiredly. He shook his head seriously, but Gabby stood up angrily again and rounded on Leigh.

“I _ain't_ goin' back with him! He's a friggin' _drug dealer_ , and I'd rather be on me own than stay with him!”

Gabby pushed past her brother and bolted up the stairs, leaving both Jake and Leigh stunned. Leigh was beyond angry and confused now. She glared at her cousin.

“I'm sorry...but _what?_ ”she demanded.

Jake took a step back. Leigh found the smell of cigarette smoke he brought into the house with him to be overpowering suddenly. “That ain't none of your concern,” he explained firmly, raising his hands a bit. “This is about Gabby-”

“So it's _true?_ ” Leigh snapped.

“Never mind that!” Jake shouted suddenly. Leigh couldn't believe this was the same child she used to be so close to. “Gabby ran off 'cause _he_ couldn't cope with the truth no more!”

“The truth about _what?_ ”

Jake sighed, and his eyes narrowed. “I can't believe you don't even _know._ We all known for years, even your _dad_.”

“Jake,” Leigh hissed desperately. “If I have to ask what the hell this is about _one more time-_ ”

“Gabby ain't his daughter!” Jake interrupted. Leigh stared with wide eyes. “She's _Spencer's!_ My mum and your dad...yeah. I don't think I need to spell it out.”

Leigh couldn't believe what she was hearing, but from the deadly look on Jake's face, she knew it was no joke.


	7. Chapter 6

Jake spent the following hour or so explaining the situation to Leigh. It took a while for Leigh to absorb it all. A headache grew stronger and stronger as Jake told her more and more.

“I don't know all the nasty details myself,” Jake told her numbly as he and Leigh sat on the sofa. “I was just a kid when it happened...I was just a kid when it all came out. All I ever knew was Mum had an affair with your dad.”

Leigh clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to say it was impossible; the whole reason Janet and Spencer went to DYAD was because they couldn't have children on their own...but Leigh couldn't tell Jake about that. Besides, her parents could have lied. Either that, or Leigh's father was fertile while Janet was not...whatever the case, it was messy, and Leigh found herself to be angry at them suddenly. Was there nobody in her life left capable of _honesty?_

“I'm not sure I believe this,” Leigh muttered darkly.

Jake stared. “They had a paternity test done and everythin',” he explained. “Don't you remember all the arguments between your dad and mine?”

“Yeah, and then they decided they didn't want to know each other, and I never saw you again,” Leigh grumbled, nodding.

Jake shook his head. “I can't believe you didn't ever _know_ about this. Didn't you ever wonder _why_ we were all pulled apart like that?”

“Yeah of course I did, but...” Leigh trailed off. She had no clue what to say. If this was true, she was gobsmacked the family wouldn't tell her about this. She turned back to Jake. “So why _now_ then? If you've all known for years, why's Ray only kicked Gabby out now?”

Jake shrugged, and stared down at his shoes. “Mum was due to get out of prison, maybe...”

“Maybe?”

“Yeah...she appealed, see? Got a retrial...things were bad with Dad and Gabby for ages...but then Mum's appeal failed...sent down for _life_...and I dunno, Dad just lost it, sayin' how Mum proper fucked up the family with all she ever done...he's _always_ taken it out on Gabby, even the whole prison thing, and that ain't right, is it? I know he was threatenin' to kick her out because of all the arguments between 'em. Always thought Gabs would come live with me, but...”

“But she'd rather run off all the way to London by herself because you're _doing drugs,_ ” Leigh shot venomously.

Jake screwed his face up and buried his head in his hands. He gripped his short hair tightly. “I don't _do_ drugs myself, Ashleigh.”

“So you just deal? Is that supposed to be _better?_ ”

“You _don't_ understand!” Jake shouted. He stood up quickly and paced the living room. Leigh was quite stunned at how fast her cousin became defensive whenever this subject was brought up. “You obviously got no idea what kind of shit we been dealin' with all these years, so you got _no right_ to judge, OK? I had to get _out_ of that hell hole before I snapped and did somethin' I'd regret! You don't know how bad he treats Gabby!”

“And turning to drugs is the answer?” Leigh argued.

Jake kicked the ground, frustration clear on his face. “Life for me and Gabs growing up has been _hell!_ Do you know what it's like goin' to school to have the _living shit_ kicked out of ya because your mum's a pissin' _murderer?!_ I hated that place, so I didn't go there much! And jobs are hard to come by when you got a piss poor education – I'm just _tryin'_ to earn enough to get Gabby somewhere safe!”

Leigh shook her head numbly. She couldn't believe it. How could things have gotten so bad without her knowing any of it?

Suddenly, a sickening thought occurred to her. Did _Rachel_ know any of this? The blonde seemed to know everything about everything, or at least she liked to think so. Did she know about Gabby's origins?

“Look, just lemme take Gabs back-”

“No,” Leigh told him firmly, effectively silencing him. “She's not going back there if all she's got waiting for her is a dad who doesn't want her and a drug dealer for a brother.” She didn't mean to sound so harsh, but the shock of everything was making her feel raw in that moment. “She can stay here with me. I'll figure something out.”

Jake scowled, but didn't argue. He could tell there was no way to make Leigh understand. She'd been brought up sheltered from the darkness of the world, and had no way of realising just how desperate and hopeless things could really get.

The room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

“I'm gonna go say bye then,” Jake muttered curtly, before walking towards the stairs.

Leigh sighed, rubbing her head as her headache intensified. “You've been driving all day...stay the night and then leave in the morning,” she told him tiredly, looking at the time. It was nearly dinner time already.

Jake glanced at her, surprised. “Ya sure? I don't mind drivin' back now...”

Leigh nodded. “Yeah, I'm sure. Gabby's staying _here_ though, and that's final. I'll look after her,” she muttered. She knew this would severely delay her hunt for Amelia, but she wouldn't let her cousin go back to Scotland where there was nothing positive waiting for her.

Leekie would just have to accept that if he threw up a fuss over it.

\--

After several hours of sitting in her cell, Aila couldn't deny she was extremely hungry. She hadn't eaten since the day before. She remembered Morgan telling her if she didn't eat, she'd be made to go without.

Aila hadn't seen the surgeon since earlier in the afternoon, but she knew she'd have to buck up and get this over with by herself regardless. She couldn't rely on the other clone just because she was afraid.

With that thought in mind, Aila walked out of her cell and made her way down to the first floor, where she remembered seeing people eating earlier in the day. There were many women of all ages hanging around, though nobody seemed to pay Aila any mind.

Entering the eating area, Aila paused to take in the arrangement. It seemed as though there was a line where people could get trays before making their way up to be served food. Aila was again reminded strongly of a school lunchroom as she got in line and grabbed a tray.

The officers walked around through the crowds and called out that dinner was to be served, and for everyone to report to the eating area. Aila was wholly convinced there were not enough tables for the number of inmates, but she figured it didn't matter. She'd eat and get back to her cell as quickly as possible.

When she had her food, which looked entirely unappetizing, Aila made her way to a free seat and looked around the room. She couldn't see Saffi or Morgan anywhere. Aila shook her head and began eating, surprised to find the food didn't taste half as bad as it looked.

Suddenly, another tray landed on the table opposite her. Aila glanced up and froze with wide eyes as she took in the sight of an older woman with long, dirty blonde hair. Her bright hazel eyes seemed to shine with wickedness.

“Ello Hailee. Fancy meetin' _you_ 'ere, eh?” the woman said smoothly.

Aila recognised the woman immediately, even if she'd aged quite a bit since they last saw each other. Her name was Angela Sylvester. She'd been a member of the gang Aila had lived with for five years in her youth. Sylvester had been the main cook at the city house, though she had a reputation for being quite a bully as well.

Aila tried to mask her surprise quickly, acting as though she didn't know who the woman was. “Sorry, wrong girl. My name's Aila, not Hailee.”

The woman grinned darkly. “Yeah, and I'm a bleedin' _saint,_ ” she scoffed. “Word has it you were one of the little bitches who got us shut down and landed a load of us here. I'm sure a few others 'round here would like to have a word about that...”

Aila paled slightly. She couldn't help but wonder how many of her former gang members were in here, and how they found out the names of the ones who'd gotten them thrown in prison.

Before she could respond though, another woman appeared at the table, giving Sylvester a leveled glare. “Oi, leave the girl alone Sylvester. Piss off back to your own table, yeah?”

Sylvester arched an eyebrow at the new woman. “Why, fancy her yourself Wilks?” she shot back as she stood up.

The room fell silent as everyone's eyes turned to Sylvester and Wilks. Before things could escalate, two officers shouted at the women to break it up. Sylvester muttered something under her breath and glared down at Aila venomously. “You best watch your back in here, Hailee. Not as easy to get away with bein' a grass in this place as it were on the outside.”

Sylvester turned and made her way to another table. After a moment, the other inmates in the room resumed their normal conversation.

Wilks sat down opposite Aila. “You all right?” she asked.

“Yeah...cheers,” Aila muttered, rubbing her arm absently.

“Tracy Wilks,” the woman introduced herself, holding out a hand to Aila.

“Aila MacPherson,” Aila told her, lightly grasping her hand. This woman had just helped her out, so being polite was the least Aila could do.

Aila took a few seconds to take in Wilks. She appeared middle-aged, and was rather good-looking. Her hair was a dull, reddish-brown and grew down past her shoulders, and her grey eyes stood out against the rest of her warm complexion.

Tracy eyed Aila curiously. “How come Sylvester kept callin' ya 'Hailee'?” she asked.

“Hell knows,” Aila muttered, not making eye contact. She wasn't about to tell Wilks that Hailee was her real name, whether she'd helped her or not. The last thing she wanted was for word to get back to Sylvester that Aila really _was_ the person she remembered. “Mistaken identity,” Aila offered with a shrug.

She could feel Tracy watching her carefully, though couldn't find it in her to ask her to stop. Aila instead pushed back her chair and abruptly stood up, taking Tracy by surprise. “Sorry,” she mumbled pathetically. “It's just – phone call...” Truthfully, Aila just wanted to get back to her cell, but she didn't want to appear rude.

Tracy shifted around in her chair as Aila passed. “It's tough,” she spoke loudly enough for Aila to hear her, “on your first day. I get it.”

Aila stopped in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder at Tracy, who blinked slowly.

“Kinda helps to have a phone card though, if you need to make a phone call,” Tracy continued.

“Err...” Aila began.

“You can't have earned one yet. Not until they give ya a job and you start earnin' wages. Here...” Tracy reached into her pocket and beckoned Aila over. She whipped out a phone card and handed it to Aila after glancing around to make sure the officers weren't watching. “Don't usually give these out for free, but...”

Aila stared. “Then why are you?”

Tracy shrugged. “Like I said. I know it's tough.”

Aila reluctantly accepted the card and grasped it firmly to keep it hidden from everyone else. She took a moment to watch Tracy with a frown, briefly wondering if she was up to anything to be wary of.

However, Aila gave a nod and took a step back. “Thanks,” said sincerely.

Tracy nodded too. “Might wanna get rid of your tray if you're done eatin',” she advised, she too getting up to walk away. “Only takes you forgettin' to do the little things like that for the screws to start pickin' on ya n'all. Especially Holmes...”

Tracy disappeared as quickly as she arrived. Aila stared into the crowd of inmates for a minute before picking up her tray to dispose of her unwanted food.

\--

“Where you off to?” Jake asked Leigh after dinner.

Leigh had run out to the store to buy more food supplies for her cousins and had cooked for them. Gabby, still in a foul mood, insisted on locking herself upstairs in Leigh's bedroom after everyone ate, not wanting to discuss recent events with Leigh at all. Now, Leigh was tired of sitting around. She knew what she had to do now, and she'd rather get it out of the way as soon as possible.

“I have to nip out somewhere,” Leigh explained to Jake. She put on her shoes and picked up her coat as Jake watched her expectantly. “I'm probably gonna be a few hours, so just stay here with Gabby.”

“That don't answer my question,” Jake told her accusingly. He raised his eyebrows at her. “You goin' to your folks?”

Leigh rolled her eyes and groaned. “For the _last time,_ they're NOT here.”

“You sure as hell ain't tellin' us everythin',” Jake told her bluntly.

“You don't want to _know_ everything, Jake,” Leigh shot at him as she zipped up her coat. She shook her head and refused to meet his gaze. “Trust me on that.”

“So you expect me to leave my sister in your care when you won't even tell us what's goin' on? Because I'm _sure_ it's somethin' dodgy.”

“Not _half_ as dodgy as you and your friggin' drugs,” Leigh hissed at him.

“Don't start this again,” Jake warned her.

“Then you mind your own friggin' business,” Leigh snapped.

“If you won't talk, Gabs ain't stayin' here,” Jake argued. “I _still_ don't believe you was really ignorant to all this. You're involved somehow, and I wanna know where you're goin'. You can't stop me followin' you.”

Leigh forced a laugh and approached the door. “Stay here with Gabby and don't even think about running off back to Scotland with her.”

“Or what?” Jake challenged her. He paused and narrowed his eyes. “Does it involve _Rachel?_ ” Leigh completely froze. Her eyes grew wide. “Yeah, forgot I know about her, didn't ya? You never did explain her existence properly, did ya? She part of some dirty little secret your parents been keepin' as well?”

“ _Do not_ talk about Rachel,” Leigh seethed as she rounded on him. “Not to Gabby. Not to _anyone._ ”

“ _What_ are you so scared of for people to find out about her? This whole thing with Gabby...the secret about Rachel...somethin' just don't add up with all of this, Ashleigh, and I wanna know _why!_ Your parents ain't around, and it's obviously somethin' to do with-”

“STAY HERE,” Leigh spoke loudly over Jake. Jake fell quiet to listen to her. “Jake, you do NOT know what you're dealing with, so just back off if you know what's good for you! And if you follow me, or if I get back here and find you and Gabby gone, I'll call the police and tell them you're dealing.”

“Oh come _on!_ ” Jake cried in disbelief.

“What kind of shit do you deal, Jake?” Leigh continued, eager for her warning to sink in. “Just how bad is it that it's made you like this? Because I'm looking at you right now and I don't remember you being so pathetic.”

“Yeah?” Jake spat, eyes wide with anger. “Well, I don't remember _you_ being such a bitch.”

Leigh paused for a moment to stare at her cousin. Jake only stared back, apparently unfazed and not sorry for his words.

At last, Leigh tore her eyes from Jake's and left the house with a terrific _bang_ as the door closed firmly behind her.

\--

Rachel glanced over at the sound of the door opening and closing. The blonde was still on her laptop at the table. She wanted to make a comment about the amount of time Leigh had spent at her own house, but the words died in her throat as she took in the expression on Leigh's face.

“What happened?” Rachel asked, walking over to her twin to get a better look at her.

Leigh shook her head and approaced the sofa to flop down. The hairdresser looked tired and upset. Rachel followed her curiously, concerned at her twin's behaviour.

“Leigh?” Rachel asked again. “You are causing me great concern. Tell me what happened to put you in such a state.”

Leigh sighed. “Rachel...I've got to move back into my own house.” Rachel looked like she wanted to protest, but Leigh held a hand up to stop her. “Just listen, OK? Look...Gabby's not going back to Scotland. She's going to be living with me from now on. Her dad kicked her out, and well...she was going to live with Jake, but...” Leigh scowled and shook her head. “But I don't want her to...turns out he's gone and started drug dealing for money. Gabby doesn't deserve to be around people like that.”

Rachel blinked slowly, stunned. “Jake has gotten involved in _drug dealing?_ ” she repeated.

Leigh nodded, inwardly relieved that Rachel sounded genuinely surprised. “Yeah...and that's not even the kicker,” she sighed, unconsciously leaning into Rachel for a hug. The blonde immediately returned the gesture as she waited to hear what else had happened. Leigh closed her eyes. “Apparently Gabby's...she's my _half-sister_ , Rachel. _..our_ half-sister,” she whispered, gripping Rachel tightly. “Dad...Spencer...h-he cheated, apparently, with my aunt...that's why Ray doesn't want Gabby, because she's not his daughter...”

Rachel stared blankly into space for a moment as she held Leigh, again completely surprised by this revelation. “Is that why Spencer and Ray no longer wish to be in communication?”

“Yeah,” Leigh muttered. “I just...fuck...I _can't_ leave Gabby alone, Rachel. And I sure as fuck don't want her hanging around with Jake's druggie pals. She's just a _kid_. Please don't be mad at me. I just...”

“Have to do this,” Rachel finished for her, sighing lightly herself.

“Yeah.”

The twins lapsed into a silence for several minutes, each lost in her own thoughts. Leigh hoped taking care of Gabby wouldn't be too hard. She knew she'd need to find out how to get Gabby enrolled in school. Jake was right about one thing. It was impossible to get anywhere without a decent education, so she'd make sure Gabby could at least have that.

Rachel eventually let go of Leigh and sat back to look at her properly. She took Leigh by the hand. “I do not want you to go,” she told Leigh bluntly. “But I know by now you will not be swayed in situations like this. You realise, however, if you go back, I must assign Shaun to watch over you again. How will you explain his presence to Gabby?”

Leigh shrugged. “I'll think of something.”

“You could always bring her here to live with us. You can see for yourself that I have more than enough room to accommodate her.”

“ _No_ ,” Leigh sighed, and her stern tone caused Rachel to look quite affronted. “Look, I know you're gonna be pissed at me for saying this, but I want her to stay well away from all things DYAD. I just want her to have a normal life. No abusive fathers, druggie brothers, or sciencey bullshit to screw with her. I don't _think_ she remembers you, anyway, and I want it to stay that way.”

“I see,” Rachel said flatly, and Leigh didn't miss the way she tensed up a bit. Rachel glanced at her. “Does Jake?” she asked reluctantly.

Leigh paused. “Yeah,” she said darkly. “And _he_ was asking all sorts of questions as it was, about you, and about Janet and Spencer disappearing. I _can't_ drag him and Gabby into all of this, Rachel. You know how messy it'll get.”

Rachel found herself nodding in agreement, despite feeling rather bitter about it. “I suppose I should put the call in for your monitor to be retrieved, in that case.”

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” Leigh told her sincerely. She hugged her twin again.

Rachel sighed, but returned the gesture once more. Then she stood to walk back over to her laptop. “I will arrange for Shaun to return to your home tomorrow morning.”

Leigh nodded quietly. She wasn't thrilled at the idea of having a monitor again, and had absolutely no idea what she was going to tell Gabby, but she figured she had at least tonight to work out a story of some kind. For now, she needed to get back to the house to make sure her cousins were still where they were meant to be.

\--

“This sucks.”

Rat was lying on her back on her bed, completely bored out of her mind. She didn't want to go anywhere until she heard back from Aila again, but the waiting was quickly wearing her patience thin.

Lucas watched her with a frown, not sure what to do. The two had already eaten, having ordered food from room service. The TV was on for background noise, though neither of them paid it any attention.

It had been several hours since Danielle needed to leave the video call to return to whatever the doctors wanted her to do for the day, and Rat was quickly becoming fed up of doing absolutely nothing. She found her thoughts lingering on Katja when there was nothing to do. As much as she missed her sister, she sometimes found she couldn't fight the surge of anger she felt at such a situation. She'd give anything to have Katja with her now.

Rat sat up straight, sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. The frown Lucas wore deepened at the sight, but he couldn't bring himself to move closer to offer his estranged daughter any kind of comfort. He and Rat were still very distant, and he was well aware of the unspoken boundaries keeping that distance.

Rat found herself absently taking her laptop and opening the lid. Before she could stop herself, she opened up a video file that'd been on her desktop for a good few months – a video file she couldn't bring herself to click on again until that moment.

“ _Hallo. If you are seeing zis, zen I have already left. Do not attempt to follow or contact me. I vill make contact vith you all again ven zis is over...”_

Rat stared numbly at Katja's face on the screen as the German's message played. The hacker felt a lump in her throat at the sight. She didn't remember Katja looking so pale and sick. Had she really looked _that_ bad the last time they were together?

“ _Please give my zanks to Lucas and your parents for helping us. Vee vouldn't have lasted vithout zem. I love you all so much. I look forward to returning to you as soon as I can...”_

Lucas had been watching quietly over Rat's shoulder, and he finally willed himself to approach and sit carefully on the end of the bed. Rat glanced at him.

“Bloody reckless idiot left this for me before she buggered off to meet Beth,” she grumbled irritably, masking her sadness well. “I was so angry...”

Lucas nodded. He dared to put a comforting hand on Rat's shoulder. “She is strong. I vish I knew her better, but...I already know she is strong.”

“She's also _sick,_ ” Rat reminded him, her voice squeaking slightly now. Lucas tightened his grip ever so slightly.

“Ja...”

Lucas didn't know what else to say. There was no known cure for this terrible illness, and he knew it was pointless to offer someone like Rat false hope and empty words. That didn't stop him feeling for the hacker, though, when a brief look of desperation flashed across her face.

Rat's phone rang, and she jumped up to find it immediately. Lucas wondered if he'd just imagined Rat's desperation; her face now blank and unreadable again. Rat glanced down at her phone. “Aila...it's gotta be Aila...”

“Answer it,” Lucas urged her.

Rat nodded and pressed a button to answer the call. “Yes? Hello?”

She was greeted by a heavy sigh of relief. “Rat...at last.”

Rat sighed too. “Hi...Aila, I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier. I just-”

“Don't worry about that,” Aila said quickly. “I get it. Look, I don't have long on these stupid pissing phone cards, and someone else is waiting to use the phone. How're you holding up?”

Rat faltered, eyes growing wide. “ _Me?_ You're banged up in that hell hole, and you're worried about _me?_ ”

Aila didn't respond, instead shrugging to herself, forgetting Rat couldn't see her.

“I'm fine, and so is Lucas,” Rat spoke again after a moment. “And you? If there's _anything_ I can do-”

“I'm all good,” Aila assured her. Rat was fairly certain Aila was trying to sound brave. “But you need to work on a plan, Rat. _Don't_ just sit around stewing because I'm in here. Katja's still out there somewhere, and so is Beth! What use is waiting around? What if – what if DYAD catch up to you while you're stuck in the same place?” Aila spoke in hushed tones now.

Rat sighed and nodded. “Yeah...listen. Danielle got back in touch. She's in rehab, apparently.”

“Danielle? Well thank God she's OK,” Aila said, sounding genuinely pleased.

“Yeah...she...she wants to know when we can meet again...”

“Go to her,” Aila said strictly. “I'm serious, Rat. There's nothing you can do for me at the moment apart from keep in touch. Promise me you'll at least do that, and I won't go crazy.”

Rat looked at Lucas for a moment, who just looked confused. He wondered what Aila was saying over the phone. Then Rat inhaled deeply and bit back a groan. “I don't want to leave you, Aila. But I know you're right. Look, as soon as we get Danielle, we'll...we'll come back; we'll arrange to visit you or something...”

“I'd like that,” Aila admitted.

“Yeah,” Rat said awkwardly, shrugging. “And...it's OK to be scared. Nobody would blame you...”

Aila felt her eyes water a bit, and she turned to face the wall to hide her face from the impatient inmate waiting behind her to use the phone. “I'll be _fine,_ ” she insisted, voice trembling a bit. “I'm not _scared._ ” She forced a small laugh, and Rat grinned a bit.

“I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but I'm just saying...it's OK,” Rat told her. She didn't want to sound at all patronising, knowing full well that coming across as scared in a place like prison would just be _asking_ to be targeted and bullied. At the same time, Rat didn't want Aila to bottle things up from the one person she had left.

“Thanks Rat,” Aila said quietly. “I've gotta go...I'll call again soon. Take care.”

“Yeah, you too,” Rat mumbled.

The call ended. Rat looked down at her phone for a few seconds. She _hated_ Aila being in that place. The very _idea_ of leaving the country while Aila was locked up there felt wrong on so many levels. Rat swallowed hard and looked to Lucas, despite her increasing feelings of guilt.

“Well?” Lucas asked.

Rat bit her lip. “We should get packing,” she explained, shutting off Katja's video and closing the laptop. “We're gonna go meet Danielle.”

\--

When the call was over, Aila returned to her cell without speaking a word to anyone else. She found herself alone in the room, which she decided was perfectly fine. The doctor sat down on her bed, thinking about her conversation with Rat.

She hoped Rat would actually do as she was told and go to support Danielle. She was surprised the French clone had opted to go rehab completely on her own, but she was happy as well. She hoped the skater would be much better off without drugs dragging her down.

A few hours later, Aila glanced over at the door. The officers were shouting for everyone to return to their cells for lockup. It didn't take long for Saffi to reappear. The tall woman glanced over at Aila and waved with a light grin.

“Yo. Settlin' in fine?”

Aila nodded. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

“Good good,” Saffi said with a bob of her head. “I know it ain't easy. First night's always the toughest. Hope ya ain't plannin' on sleepin' tonight; them girls can get dead loud until ya get used to their hollerin'.”

“As if I sleep anyway,” Aila muttered to herself. She nodded though. “How do you manage to sleep?”

“Oh hell, I'm used to it,” Saffi told her with a laugh. “I don't even barely hear 'em nowadays.”

Aila nodded quietly, glancing out the window. It had long since turned dark, making her feel trapped. The doctor took a slow, calming breath though, remembering that she needed to put up with this arrangement whether she liked it or not. It wasn't as though she had a choice, after all.

An officer soon came in and turned the lights off before closing and locking both doors. Aila sighed and tried to settle down, though as promised, the sounds of voices soon reached her ears. The stone walls seemed strangely transparent. Aila could hear some inmates talking in other rooms; some crying, and some laughing and shouting out the windows.

“Jesus Christ...” Aila muttered, soon sitting up again. She knew she wouldn't sleep even if she wanted to.

“Mmmhmm,” Saffi murmured. “It's like this every night.”

Aila could barely Saffi through the darkness, but she could feel Saffi watching her.

It was a few minutes before Saffi spoke again. “Listen...I usually wait a bit before makin' offers to new gals to see if they're the grassin' type, but...if ya like, I could possibly getcha somethin' to help ya sleep better? Or just, getcha somethin' in general. See, I ain't gonna own up to this conversation ever happinin' if ya do decide to grass, but whatever your pleasure, I can facilitate. Ya need sleepin' pills, ya need weed, ya need meth, I'm your girl. I know how a lot of girls deal with that depression shit in here.”

Aila blinked slowly, before scowling. “No thanks. I don't do drugs.”

Saffi shrugged, smiling now. “Your choice honey, but if ya ever change yer mind, ya know where to find me,” she said with a wink.

“I won't change my mind,” Aila told her firmly, finally easing herself down on the bed to attempt to at least fake sleep.

The voices never stopped, though after some time, Aila managed to fall into a restless (and thankfully dreamless) sleep.


	8. Chapter 7

The flight from Scotland to Switzerland was short, but tense. Rat was surprised when Lucas insisted on coming with her. She knew he had the week off work, but she wasn't sure how extensively DYAD might be tracking him.

Lucas didn't seem overly worried though, telling Rat he could explain he was visiting a friend if DYAD asked him about it upon his return. Rat took no chances though, and made it look like Lucas had a connecting flight from Geneva to Frankfurt, just to be safe.

It felt strange to the hacker to set foot in her home city again. The last time she was here was the day Leekie and Rachel confronted the clones. That night had been rough, ending with Charles biting Leekie's arm and Rachel of all people helping the clones make it to the train station alive so they could depart for Leoben.

Rat looked around as she and Lucas exited the airport. She'd gotten the address of the clinic from Danielle earlier that morning before their flight. Clutching the piece of paper with the address written on it, Rat flagged down a taxi and told the driver where to take them.

The plan was to make a base camp of sorts at a nearby hotel, and stay there until Danielle was deemed fit to leave the clinic. As guilty Rat felt about leaving Aila behind, she couldn't deny she was looking forward to seeing Danielle again.

“This city is where Cecile and I grew up,” she told Lucas absently as she looked out the windows of the taxi. “I don't suppose you've ever been here before, have you?”

“I haven't, no,” Lucas told her. “It ez a very pretty city zough.”

Rat made a vague sound of agreement and fell silent. Aila made a similar comment when she first saw the city all those months ago.

Suddenly, Rat smirked and had to bite back a laugh. Memories of bringing the other clones to this city also brought forth memories of Leigh and Aila attempting to make a cake for Rat and Katja, which ended in a spectacular failure. At the time, Rat had been severely annoyed at them for messing up her kitchen, but now she found she could only be amused at the memory.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at the sudden smirk, but he didn't question it and simply sat in silence as he too allowed himself to be lost in thought. Soon enough though, the taxi pulled off to the side in front of a very large white building.

Rat paid the driver and got out, wasting no time in making her way towards the rehabilitation center. Lucas had to walk quickly to catch up to her. Even though Rat had slowly become more trusting of the world thanks to the influence of the other clones, she still hated being out in the open.

“RATTY!”

Rat paused, looking around before she reached the building. It only took a moment to see the shape of a clone running towards her from across the grassy area near the building. Danielle grinned brightly and hugged Rat when she was close enough to do so, bouncing up and down slightly as she did. Rat grinned and hugged her back, happy to see that the French clone was indeed alive and well, and looking happier than Rat had ever seen her.

Lucas could only watch in amazement as he took in the sight of this new clone. It never failed to amaze him how different they all were, even though they all shared the same face.

Danielle stepped back after a moment, still smiling. “You are 'ere! I told zee doctors zat I was expecting visitors, and zey said I could wait out 'ere if I wanted,” she explained. “I can lead you up to my room now zough, so we can talk.”

Rat smiled warmly at the other clone and nodded. “Lead the way.”

\--

Leigh spent that morning gathering up her belongings and packing them away. She'd gone back to her own place the previous night to keep an eye on Gabby and Jake, both of whom were fast asleep when she made it through the door. She left again the next morning shortly after Jake awoke, and somehow managed to convince him to stay put a short while longer until she returned again.

It was for this reason that she rushed to stuff everything into her suitcase and bag, even if she struggled to make them fit. She didn't have time to neatly fold everything up so they'd fit in better. She didn't want to keep her cousins waiting or give them more reasons to be suspicious.

When Leigh was ready to leave, she approached Rachel, who was in the kitchen, and tried to hand her the spare key to the apartment. Rachel stared for a second and shook her head.

“Keep it,” she insisted. “You are welcome here any time, day or night. You shall never be turned away.”

Leigh just smiled. It was so easy to appreciate Rachel when she was like this. She knew Rachel didn't want her to go, and could easily make this difficult if she wanted to, but in that moment, Leigh was thankful her sister could still be understanding.

“Thanks,” Leigh said quietly. She put the key in her bag, making a mental note to attach it to her keyring later. “Shaun...is he-”

“He shall be along later this evening,” Rachel explained. “Do _try_ to use his presence to your advantage rather than constantly choosing to fight with him. You are the only one making things difficult.”

Leigh couldn't fight the urge to roll her eyes and shake her head. It was _already_ difficult being watched constantly by a strange man who never had anything nice to say, but it would be pointless to remind Rachel of that. She would never understand how she coped with Daniel in this way.

But, with Gabby to focus on, Leigh knew she'd have to deal with it. Arguing would cause problems with DYAD; with Leekie – and Gabby didn't need more problems.

“See you soon,” Leigh said to Rachel.

“Bye,” Rachel responded quietly.

Leigh picked up her bags and left.

\--

As promised, Aila didn't sleep much. It seemed like every time she managed to dose off for an hour, some noise woke her back up again. By the time morning finally came, she was glad to be able to do something besides toss and turn in bed.

Aila made her way downstairs, hoping she could exit her cell without having a run-in with Sylvester, or anyone else from her youth. When she got her food, Aila debated eating up in her cell. She knew doing so would probably just be seen as cowardice, though, which would be an invitation for trouble.

“Good morning, dearie.”

Aila glanced up, smiling slightly to see Morgan standing nearby holding a tray. The surgeon sat down beside Aila, nodding to her politely. “Forgive me, but you look rather...rough this morning. Didn't sleep well?”

“Barely slept at all,” Aila told her, rubbing her eyes.

She could only imagine how she looked. She was used to running on little sleep, but usually she could at least get a few hours of rest, even with her nightmares. It was far more exhausting to be woken up practically every hour by screaming inmates.

Morgan nodded in understanding. “It does take some getting used to. Perhaps later on you can attempt to nap while everyone is busy down here?”

“Maybe,” Aila said with a shrug. Truthfully, she didn't feel safe at all sleeping while the cell doors were unlocked, though she didn't want to admit that out loud.

Just then, Aila noticed Tracy sitting at another table, casting curious glances at her and Morgan every so often. Aila watched, waving at her awkwardly.

Morgan followed her gaze, tilting her head to the side slightly. “Tracy Wilks. Do you know her, Aila?”

“Not really,” Aila shrugged. “She just helped me out yesterday when...that blonde girl started getting in my face.”

“Blonde girl? Oh, do you mean Angela Sylvester? I had quite a few run-ins with her myself when I first arrived. Report it to the Wing Governor if she carries on. That's what I did and she soon stopped,” Morgan said.

“Seriously?” Aila asked, raising an eyebrow. From what she remembered about Sylvester, it seemed odd that she would stop harassing somebody just because an authority figure said so. Aila couldn't question it without giving away the fact she knew Sylvester from her past though, so she let it drop. Maybe Sylvester had simply become more obedient to authority due to her time in prison.

“Anyway,” Morgan spoke again, drawing Aila out of her thoughts. “I do not know when, but I imagine you'll be meeting with the Wing Governor soon enough for your induction. She'll give you a job to do so you may start earning wages to buy items from the wing's store.”

“Oh yeah, I meant to ask you about that. What jobs do they have us do here?” Aila asked.

“Well, there are quite a few things you can do. You may be assigned to work in the kitchens, or in one of the other special facilities such as the library or the computer area...or you may be assigned to do less glamorous things such as cleaning cells or making beds. Arguably, the worst job available is cleaning the toilets. Normally that one is reserved though, and used to punish bad behaviour,” Morgan explained. “Doing a good job allows us to make money, in a way, which can then be exchanged for items, as I said. Things such as beauty products, clothes, and phone cards can be earned this way.”

“I'm probably gonna need to buy clothes ASAP,” Aila muttered. She only had the clothes she'd been arrested in, which were quickly becoming disgusting.

Morgan smiled slightly, though it came across as more of a grimace. “Feel free to borrow mine, if you need to. I assume we're the same size. Yours will be washed when you go for a shower.”

“Really? Cheers. A shower sounds _awesome_ , actually,” Aila said. “I feel gross. Where can I go for one?”

Morgan chuckled lightly. “I can show you. Toss your tray if you're done and follow me, dearie. Though I do advise being quick in there. Some girls can get...erm...handsy, at times. I can bring some clothes to lend until yours are clean again.”

Aila grimaced slightly at the thought of anyone trying anything in the shower, though she figured it'd be fine as long as she got cleaned up as fast as possible. Aila glanced over to notice Tracy staring at her again, though she quickly averted her gaze and stood to get rid of her tray.

For some reason, Aila felt something odd when she looked at Tracy, though she pushed the thoughts aside as she allowed Morgan to guide her to the shower area. In the back of her mind, Aila knew she was just being paranoid.

\--

Danielle's room was quiet. Rat had been telling the French clone what everyone had been through in full detail, but Danielle didn't seem to have much to say in response. She simply sat and listened carefully, allowing Rat to vent the frustrations and insecurities these situations had been causing her.

Lucas had been a great help so far, but somehow talking to Danielle made Rat feel a lot better than she had been feeling lately. Although the clones couldn't survive without the help of others, Rat knew it was hard for anyone to truly understand or relate to the things they had to deal with. It wasn't until then she realised how relieved she was to be with Danielle again.

“But I'm still so worried about Aila,” Rat told Danielle. “She's really strong, I know, but this is _prison_ we're talking about. It's not like I can call her, and I feel bad leaving her behind to come here...what if she needs to see me in person all of a sudden? Anything could happen there...”

Danielle nodded understandingly. “If I could leave rehab right now, I would go back with you so we can 'elp 'er...I owe 'er so much after...well...you know...” she trailed off and averted her gaze with a shrug.

Rat stared at her for a moment. Danielle had changed a lot since Rat and the others tracked her down and met her. She had come a long way already from the demanding and cold drug addict who didn't seem to care about anyone but herself. Rat knew it had all been a front really, especially since Danielle had shown enormous remorse after Aila's accident on the ice. Rat found herself wishing she hadn't been so harsh on Danielle back then.

“You're doing the right thing by being here, you know,” Rat tried to assure her. Danielle looked up with wide eyes, but then nodded. “Maybe there's a way we can get you out of here, but not if you're not ready.”

“I...I do not know,” Danielle muttered. “By staying 'ere, I am useless to you, and I _want_ to 'elp, even if I am just zere so you are not alone. Leigh...she started all of this to 'elp us and bring us togezer...I should not 'av fought so 'ard against 'er, or all of you when you first found me...”

Rat looked away from Danielle then, tears threatening to sting her eyes. She managed to hold them back though as she stared at the wall with gritted teeth. Thinking of Leigh was painful, especially when Rat remembered how hard she'd been on her in the beginning.

“We make up for it by getting Aila out of prison,” Rat spoke firmly. “Whatever it takes, yes? I _need_ you Danielle, but only if you're really, really up for all of this. That means making the most of your recovery here, and leaving _only_ when you really do feel ready.”

Danielle gave a determined nod. “We will find Katja too,” she told Rat.

“Yeah,” Rat said with a small grin. “Yeah...”

Lucas watched the two clones from his corner of the room. He might have felt a bit isolated, but he knew how important it was for Rat and Danielle to help each other.

Rat glanced over at Lucas, and then back at Danielle. “For now we can make arrangements to live nearby...maybe in a hotel or cheap apartment or something. I'll start looking into possible ways to help get Aila out of prison.”

Danielle nodded. “Oui, zat sounds good. I zink zere are 'otels nearby zat 'ave an agreement wiz zis place to 'ouse zee families of residents. Per'aps you can go zere and get a unit?”

“Oh really? Yeah, we'll definitely look into that then,” Rat nodded. “I'll visit as often as the staff here will let me and keep you updated on everything.”

Danielle smiled brightly. “I would like zat. I 'ave been very lonely 'ere while I was not allowed to contact you,” she told Rat, before looking over at Lucas.

The skater couldn't help being a bit curious about him. Rat had mentioned before that Lucas was still technically with DYAD. Danielle knew Rat wouldn't have brought him here if she didn't trust him, but she couldn't help feeling a bit wary anyway after her experiences with DYAD employees.

Lucas noticed her staring and smiled slightly as he offered a short wave. “Hallo. Sorry I have not said much. I figured I should let you two catch up.”

“It is OK,” Danielle told him. “I just am curious...'ow long can you 'elp us wizout DYAD knowing?”

Lucas hesitated slightly, thinking about it for a moment before answering. “Vell...I have zee rest of zis veek to do vat I vant. After zat...I vill come up viz somezing to tell zem. Do not vorry. I vill not let zem find you girls.”

Rat frowned slightly, though she remained silent. She had been wondering about that as well, but she figured Lucas had already proven he was able to look after himself. She just needed to remember to trust him and focus on the situation at hand rather than anything that might happen in the future.

\--

When Leigh walked through the door of her house, she was relieved to see Gabby and Jake were both still there. They were sitting in the living room watching TV. Gabby glanced over and scowled slightly, but said nothing.

Leigh held back a sigh and made her way to her room to drop off her bags. She still didn't know what she would say to Gabby when Shaun arrived later that evening. It was bound to cause even more arguments, but Leigh knew she'd just have to deal with it as best she could.

Making her way back to the living room, Leigh glanced at Jake. She couldn't believe that he was into drug dealing now, but that fact helped strengthen her resolve to keep Gabby here and safe.

“Have you two eaten anything yet?” Leigh asked them after a moment.

Jake nodded. “Yeah...had some of that cereal ya got in the other room,” he said, before standing and stretching. “Right...suppose if you're gonna stay put, I ought to piss off back home,” he muttered, before looking at Gabby. “Oi Gabs, this time keep in touch at least, yeah? If ya need anything, just gimme a ring.”

Gabby stood too, frowning deeply. “You're really goin' already?”

Jake raised his eyebrows with an amused smirk. “Thought you didn't wanna see me in the first place? Make your mind up.”

“There's really no rush to go, Jake,” Leigh spoke up. She wasn't sure how difficult Gabby was going to be without her brother there to help keep her in check. It wasn't fair to force Jake to stay though, and Leigh knew he needed to sort out his own issues.

Jake just shook his head as he pulled on his jacket. “Yeah, there _is,_ ” he shot, sounding sterner than he probably intended to.

Leigh could only guess he was still annoyed at her for being so secretive. She watched silently as Jake hugged his sister goodbye, and then followed him into the hallway to see him out of the house.

“Jake,” she spoke firmly, grabbing his arm to pull him back. “Just...sort yourself out, yeah? Gabby needs to be with someone she's close to, but not if you're gonna keep doing all this dealing shit. If there's anything I can do to help you-”

“Just look after my sister,” Jake interrupted her. “Look after her like you looked after me when I was little, and she'll be fine.”

The cousins watched each other for a moment or two, and Leigh felt quite sad suddenly. Perhaps Jake and Gabby's lives wouldn't have turned out so bad if Ray never forced them away to Scotland. Leigh wondered if she should have made more of an effort to stay in touch with her cousins over the years. Maybe it would have helped, if only a bit.

But Leigh couldn't think about that now. Getting Gabby sorted out was her top priority.

Leigh stepped forward to hug Jake, hoping he wouldn't reject her. Thankfully, Jake hugged Leigh back, and the hairdresser was glad they were parting on good terms.

“Be good,” Leigh told him out of habit.

Jake just forced a laugh as he stepped back from Leigh. “I will,” he said, opening the door to step out of the house. “I'll make this right, Ashleigh. Just give me time.”

Leigh said nothing as Jake made his way to his car. She watched him get in, start the engine and drive away, and stared down the empty road for a few minutes afterwards.

With a sigh, Leigh shut the door and turned on her heel to go back to the living room. There was so much she had to do. With the hunt for Amelia, wanting to confront her parents about the situation with Gabby, and preparing for Shaun to arrive, Leigh had no idea where to start.

“Soo...” Leigh began. She flopped down awkwardly on the sofa next to Gabby, who appeared glued to the TV. “You know, if your dad won't do anything to help, maybe I could try talking to your mum.”

Gabby tore her gaze from the TV to glare at Leigh. “How? She's in _prison_ , Ashleigh. How's she gonna force Dad to take me back?”

“I didn't mean that,” Leigh told her. “I don't _want_ you going back to him, but I'm still trying to process all of this. Talking to your mum might help me understand.”

“Don't you think _your_ dad is the one who's gotta answer for all of this?” Gabby snapped miserably.

A jolt of annoyance hit Leigh suddenly. Yes, Spencer had a lot of explaining to do. Leigh suddenly remembered she was still waiting for her parents to respond to her email about Amelia, but something like _this_ was too huge and stressful to discuss via email. As annoyed as Leigh was with her father, she knew she'd have to talk to him face to face about it, and that wasn't going to happen as long as he and Janet remained in South Africa.

Gabby just tutted and shook her head, annoyed at Leigh's silence and refusal to explain.

“All you need to know is your mum is the only one I can talk to about this at the minute,” Leigh said defensively. “Don't you think she'd _want_ to know where you're staying? She'll want to know what's happened to you, Gabby. She _deserves_ to know. Tell me which prison she's in so I can request a visiting order.”

Gabby gave a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head even more. “Fat chance of that, since it's all the way in Scotland!”

Leigh groaned and rubbed her head. Traveling all that way just for an hour visiting the prison would be inconvenient if she had to come back the very same day. She would much rather stay there for a few days to save her rushing. Such a trip would require planning, and having to explain to DYAD why she'd be away.

“Well I'll have to try and ring her then, or get her to ring me,” Leigh said. “But we'll worry about that later. I need to tell you about someone who'll be coming here tonight.”

“Lemme guess. Boyfriend?” Gabby responded.

“Oh God no,” Leigh snapped, completely repulsed. This was difficult already. She had no idea how to explain this. “His name's Shaun and he's a...he's my assistant,” she decided on. She was unable to hide an evil smirk.

“Your _assistant?_ ” Gabby repeated. “The fuck do you need an assistant for?!”

“My life's chaos, that's why,” Leigh attempted to joke. “See the state of this place?” she gestured around the living room. It was still dusty from being abandoned for so many months, and everything was out of place. Leigh had barely had chance to tidy up. “When you have money, you can afford to buy minions. That's what Shaun's for, so don't complain about him, please.”

Gabby could only stare at Leigh in disbelief, unable to tell if she was joking or not.

While Gabby was distracted watching TV, Leigh darted upstairs to her room. She'd hidden the padlocked tin in her closet, but she wondered how long it would be before Shaun found it. He _was_ a monitor, after all, so snooping was bound to ensue. Leigh had nothing to hide, really, but there was still the issue of the photo.

There was little chance of Shaun even knowing who Rachel's parents were, but if he saw the names on the back, he might want to tell Rachel about it...and Leigh didn't want Rachel to know she had the photo for now. However, Leigh reasoned, maybe she just didn't want either of them to know out of spite towards DYAD. There was _very_ little chance they'd come across the photo at all, really...but still...

Leigh took out the photo and grabbed a marker pen from her stationary box. She crossed out the Duncans' names.

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door. Leigh stood and answered it, grinning evilly. The familiar gruff-looking man stood there, looking entirely displeased to be there.

“Shaun,” Leigh said, leaning against the doorframe.

“Ashleigh,” Shaun grunted, looking down at her. “Going to shift or what?”

“In a minute. First I want to get something straight. My cousin is living here as well, and she can't know the reason you're spying on me. I told her you're my assistant-slash-minion instead, so act like it whenever she's around. Got it?” Leigh told him.

Shaun stared down at the clone in disbelief, his eye twitching slightly in annoyance. This was _definitely_ Rachel's sister he was dealing with.

“And if I refuse?” he dared to ask, looking completely unimpressed.

Leigh's smirk grew wider. “Then I'll tell Rachel you disobeyed me and have her get me a new monitor.”

Shaun sighed in defeat. “Fine,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

“Good,” Leigh quipped, pushing herself off the doorframe and leading him through the house.

Gabby glanced up at the two with wide eyes when they entered the living room. “Jesus shitting Christ; he looks like a pisshead n'all!” she exclaimed. “Why the fuck do you want him _living_ here with you?!”

“Oi! Language!” Leigh snapped, frowning deeply. “He's not a pisshead, and I already told you why he's here.” She flopped down on the sofa, before glancing up at Shaun. “Go set your bags in your room, and then get a start on dinner.”

Shaun barely resisted the urge to glare, even as he nodded stiffly. “Of course. Anything else while I'm at it?”

“I'll let you know,” Leigh said innocently with a grin.

Gabby shook her head in disbelief, unable to wrap her head around the idea of living with both her cousin and her strange minion. This was going to take some getting used to.


	9. Chapter 8

Living with Shaun was, as predicted, stressful. Gabby's presence made it harder than it needed to be, especially as Leigh was paranoid about discussing her cousin's situation while Shaun was around. The last thing she wanted was for DYAD getting involved with a fourteen-year-old. Leigh knew they'd have no reason to, but just the thought of Shaun reporting back to them about anything Leigh and Gabby discussed caused the hairdresser great distress.

It was for this reason that Leigh sent Shaun on as many errands as possible to get him out of the house. Shaun did as he was told, but he was clearly very unhappy, and often commented that DYAD wouldn't be happy to know that Leigh was avoiding being monitored. Leigh didn't care though. Rachel got away with ordering Daniel around all the time. Why should this be any different?

“Because you're known for causing DYAD problems whereas Rachel isn't,” Shaun coldly pointed out one evening.

“Rachel's _not_ innocent,” Leigh said with a forced laugh. “Everything I did wouldn't have been possible without her help. She just knows how to get away with it and keep Leekie on her side.”

“Nevertheless, you are abusing our arrangement,” Shaun spat irritably. “Leekie will be displeased.”

Leigh gave a cold grin. “You'll have to go through Rachel first.”

Shaun often found he had nothing to say whenever Leigh threatened him with the wrath of Rachel Duncan. The blonde clone outranked Leekie, and as Leigh already said, somehow always managed to get her way.

“Just at _least_ go to the DYAD building next week for your medical check up,” Shaun grumbled.

“Yeah,” Leigh muttered, not meeting his gaze. “Whatever.”

Leigh was all too used to these routine check ups, having been made to attend them since she was a child. She wished she could avoid them now though, especially with Gabby hanging around. Over the last week or so, Leigh had been trying to get her cousin to give her the details of her mother's prison, and when she wasn't doing that, she was attempting to make Gabby go to school.

“The fuck do I wanna go to _school_ for?” Gabby complained, completely aghast.

“Err, I dunno,” Leigh shot back, “maybe because you're fourteen and it's _illegal_ if you don't go?”

“Fuck that,” Gabby argued. She turned back to the TV. It had quickly become habit for her to sit on the sofa flicking through the channels with the remote for most of the day. It was another reason Leigh was so eager to get her cousin out of the house.

“You're _going_ to school if I have to drag you there.”

“You just want me out the way already.”

“That's not it at all, Gabby! It'll do you good to get out of the house! You need to be in school; you'll make friends, get an education! So we'll have a look at the local schools and contact the ones you like.”

“Pick any, I don't give a shit,” Gabby grumbled childishly.

Leigh lunged forward and snatched the remote from Gabby to switch off the TV, completely fed up of her cousin doing nothing else. “No, you can bloody well help me to help you. And _stop_ swearing already! You're doing my head in.”

Gabby's eyes grew wide as she stared up at Leigh. “You're way worse than I am for swearing!”

“I'm an adult,” Leigh reasoned. “I can do what I want. And you can give me the details for the prison. I'm gonna send your mum a letter and get her to send me a visiting order.”

“What's the point of goin' all the way up there just for an hour's visit?!” Gabby argued. “It ain't like ya live up there.”

“I _know_ that. I figured we could go for a few days rather than just one,” Leigh told her. “Like I said, I want to understand the whole mess properly, and I'm sure she'll wanna know how you're doing. When's the last time you actually saw her in person anyway? Probably way too long ago, right?”

Gabby was silent for several minutes, frowning. It _had_ been a long time since she was last allowed to see her mother, and she was kidding herself if she thought she didn't miss her. Even if it was only through a phone call, it would be nice to talk to her again.

The blonde girl sighed quietly. “Ya really wanna know that bad? Then at least tell me _where_ your folks are at, since ya keep sayin' they ain't here.”

Leigh bit back a groan. “Gabby, what good would that information do you? There's _no_ way you'd be able to go there by yourself.”

“Why not?!” Gabby snapped. “I got _here_ by myself, didn't I?!”

“Yeah, but getting from Scotland to here isn't as hard. It's all one landmass, and a hell of a lot closer than it is from here to where my parents are,” Leigh told her, rubbing her head.

Gabby scowled, looking both frustrated and defeated. “Why can't you just tell me? Your dad's gotta be the one to own up for all this. For _me,_ ” she spat angrily.

“Yeah, he does,” Leigh agreed with a scowl, surprising Gabby a bit. “But I want to have that conversation with him face to face, and that's just not possible right now. That's why your mum is the second best source of information I have. Please...just tell me what prison she's in. I want to help you, but I need to get a better grip on why all this happened.”

Gabby closed her eyes, still looking completely frustrated, though she sighed again after a minute. “If I tell ya...ya promise to let me see her too? Ya won't just run off and leave me here?”

Leigh blinked, taken aback slightly. “Well of _course_ I'd bloody well take you too! Why wouldn't I? She's your mum! You have every right to go and see her. Plus, who knows...maybe it'll help both of us understand.”

Gabby muttered something under her breath, but reluctantly nodded. “Fine. She's at HMP Lochaire...few hours outside of Glasgow. C-Wing's the one she's in.”

Leigh smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I'll send her a letter as soon as I can and ask her to send us a visiting order,” she said. The hairdresser pulled up her laptop and looked up the information needed to send a prisoner a letter, before book marking the prison's website for future reference.

“Right, that's sorted. Now then,” Leigh said, bringing up another webpage. “Let's have a look at local schools...”

Gabby could only groan.

\--

Aila was slowly settling into a routine. She'd met with the Wing Governor the day after she was brought in, and (to her pleasant surprise) had been assigned the job of organising bookshelves in the library.

At first she'd been nervous about having to interact with several inmates on a daily basis, but she soon found that most of them completely ignored her and let her get on with it. After a week of having no problems with the others (minus Sylvester, who seemed to want to make things difficult for her whenever possible), Aila even found herself relaxing slightly.

She counted up the hours she'd spent in the library so far and wondered if she had enough funds to buy a phone card. She'd wanted to get one sooner, but felt it would be better to buy new clothes first so she didn't need to keep borrowing things from Morgan.

Aila glanced over at the small dresser beside her bed, and then stared at her pink hoodie. It had been washed and folded the previous week, but she hadn't worn it since. After thinking about it for a while, Aila remembered the only real reason she'd even started wearing the colour in the first place was to tease and torment Leigh.

But now Leigh was dead. There was no reason to wear pink anymore.

Rather than buying more pink clothes (which made her think of the hairdresser every time she saw them), Aila decided to return to clothes she actually liked; white and silver shirts, and blue jeans.

Aila managed to find a white shirt with black patterns on it in the prison's 'store' that had both a longer than average collar and long sleeves, which helped to hide many of her scars. The scars that reached her face were still exposed, but it made her feel slightly less self-conscious to have most of them covered up.

Looking away from the pink hoodie, Aila returned to her previous thoughts of buying a phone card. She decided that the next time she went downstairs, she'd stop by the store and see about getting one. She was eager to call Rat again and get an update on what was going on. Aila hoped the hacker had done as she was told and had gotten back with Danielle. They needed to stay together and get to Canada as soon as possible. Finding Beth and Katja, and taking down Helena were still their top priorities.

“I just hope that phoning them won't put them in danger of DYAD...” Aila murmured to herself with a frown. There wasn't any way she could make a phone call safely or in secret in this place, but she didn't want to just drop all contact either.

Thoughts of DYAD suddenly made Aila realise that she was being monitored again, if Leekie was aware that she was in prison. Aila groaned lowly, and knew that the next time she was able to use the phone, she'd need to ask Rat to find out who her new monitor was, and also who Morgan's monitor was so she could avoid them both.

She hadn't even mentioned to Rat that there was another clone serving time in the prison with her, her mind having been too scrambled during their first two phone calls to remember to say something about Morgan's presence.

\--

In Geneva, Rat and Lucas had long since settled. They'd found a place to stay until Danielle could leave rehab, and they saw the skater almost every day. Rat and Danielle had been discussing a leaving date for the French clone, and discovered it was possible she could leave sooner than expected. Rat returned to the hotel room one afternoon to tell Lucas she was considering agreeing to be Danielle's sobriety companion, but stopped dead in the doorway to hear the German man speaking on the phone.

“Keine besonderen vorkommnisse,” he said in hushed tones as he paced the room. “Wir haben hier schon seit tagen-” he broke off when he saw Rat, and stared at her with wide eyes. “Ich muss gehen – auf wiedersehen.”

Lucas ended the call and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He stood up straight to face Rat and offered a small smile.

“Everything OK?” Rat asked suspiciously.

“Ja, just my co-worker,” Lucas explained.

Rat stared. “Someone from DYAD?”

“He ez a friend,” Lucas said with a shrug. “And speaks only German. How is Danielle doing?”

Rat eyed Lucas for a moment longer as she moved into the room and closed the door. When she sat down and explained Danielle would be out within the next day or so, Lucas just nodded, and then proceeded to question Rat about their next movements.

“Well then we've gotta try to get Aila out of prison,” Rat said with a yawn. “And work on a plan for tracking down Katja.”

“But Regina, how exactly do vee get Aila out of prison?” Lucas asked. “Nobody has had any ideas so far.”

Rat was silent for a moment, but then she nodded. “Yeah...well I've been thinking about that. I think we're gonna have to stay put in Geneva for a little while longer...I have a plan...”

“Oh?” Lucas asked curiously.

Rat's phone rang at that moment. Lucas sat quietly while the hacker answered it. She knew who it was when no caller ID showed up.

“Aila?” Rat said instantly.

“Hey Rat,” Aila responded. Rat gave a short, relieved sigh to hear the doctor's voice. “Been trying to get a friggin' phone card for _ages_ , and I finally saved up enough prison funds to get one...go me. How are you?”

“How am _I?_ ” Rat snapped, unable to help herself. She wasn't the one who was in prison. “I'm fine. Danielle's getting out of rehab soon, hopefully.”

“Glad to hear it,” Aila said. “Look I'm gonna be quick, because there's a line of people waiting to use the phone – Rat, there's another clone in here,” Aila whispered urgently.

“Wh-what?!” Rat squeaked. “Seriously? Does she _know?_ ”

“I have no idea,” Aila spoke, keeping her voice quiet so the other inmates wouldn't listen in. “I meant to tell you sooner, but I've been so distracted – she didn't even seem shocked when she saw me-”

“So you two have spoken, then?” Rat asked.

“Yeah, but I don't know how involved she is in any of it, if she is at all. Rat, I need you to find out who her monitor is,” Aila said desperately. “And if Leekie knows I'm here, I'm bound to have a new monitor too. I need to know so I can avoid them... _fuck_ DYAD for always getting in the way!”

“Yeah,” Rat said with a nod. She'd been about to tell Aila about her plan to convince Lucas and Danielle to stay in Geneva and her reasons for doing so, but this new information drove that from her mind for the time being. “Yeah, I'll see what I can do...damn...I'll try and get the info by tomorrow morning. Can you call me back then?”

“I should be able to,” Aila agreed.

“So what's her name? This other clone?” Rat asked.

“Morgan,” Aila told her. “Morgan Chamberlyn.”

Rat paused for a moment, blinking slowly. “Morgan Chamberlyn? I'm not sure why, but that name seems _really_ familiar. I think I might have read about her at some point in DYAD's files. I'll have a look in any case and see if she knows about clones.”

“Cheers, Rat,” Aila said honestly. “I should be able to keep up the funds to keep getting phone cards easily enough. The Wing Governor decided to let me work in the library since I only have one useful arm. I just have to stand around putting books away for a few hours every day.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Rat agreed, even though she couldn't help worrying for the doctor's safety.

“Right, I've gotta go. I'll give you a call at some point tomorrow morning, all right?” Aila said then, sounding slightly urgent again.

“All right. Be safe,” Rat told her seriously.

“Yeah, you too. Tell Danielle and Lucas I said hi. See ya,” Aila said, and then the line went dead.

Rat snapped her phone shut and glanced over at Lucas, who was patiently awaiting an update. “There's another clone in prison with Aila.”

“Oh?” the German man asked, tilting his head.

Rat nodded. “I'll look up info about her in a bit. First thing's first...” she murmured, walking over to her suitcase and kneeling before it. The hacker rummaged around in the bag for several minutes, before pulling a small item out.

Lucas wandered over curiously, surprised to see a very old book. Its cover was faded, but the title could still be seen faintly. “ _'Matilda'_? Zat is an old story. Zis book seems very old as vell,” he commented.

“Yeah...I've had this book since I was six. It was a gift from an old friend...” Rat carefully opened the front page to take out an old, yellowed piece of paper. A phone number was written on the paper in dark blue ink.

Rat stared at the number silently for several minutes, before glancing up at Lucas. “I know someone who may be able to help with Aila. I haven't spoken to her in many years, but it's worth a shot. I don't even know if this number is still valid. If not, I might need to try to locate her myself; maybe go to the place she used to work and see if she's still there.”

“Vhy not call and see zen?” Lucas encouraged her. He thought Rat actually looked a bit nervous or excited; he wasn't sure which.

Rat nodded and took out her cell phone to call the number that was on the piece of paper. After several rings, however, the call remained unanswered. Rat frowned slightly, and hung up after a few minutes with a soft sigh.

She tried the number again, and this time allowed it to go to voicemail before speaking. “Lydia, il est de Regina. Je besoin d'aide s'il vous plaît...me rappeler à ce numéro si vous obtenez ce,” she said, before snapping the phone shut.

“No good?” Lucas asked, not understanding the French that Rat had spoken.

“I left a voicemail telling her to call me back. Maybe I can see if she's still at her old job online,” the hacker said. She stood up and crossed over to the sofa to boot up her laptop. “Need to look up about that clone too...”

Lucas nodded and slowly crossed the room. “May I vatch?”

Rat stared at him for a moment, before slowly shifting over to make room on the sofa. She still wasn't completely comfortable with Lucas, but she knew she needed to learn to trust him. Lucas sat down quietly and observed the hacker working with a quiet fascination. He wasn't able to keep up with everything going on on the screen, but after a few minutes, a webpage popped up. The name 'Lydia Ravenstein' was highlighted.

Rat smiled. “Awesome. According to this, Lydia still works and lives in town. Maybe we can go visit her after Danielle gets out of rehab.”

“Ja, zat sounds like a good plan,” Lucas nodded.

“Right then...now, about cloney stuff...” Rat murmured, getting into DYAD's database.

The Swiss clone worked in silence for the following half an hour, before bringing up several documents. “All right...so Leekie _does_ know that Aila's in prison, but her new monitor isn't listed here. Damn...Leekie probably kept it out purposely because he knew I'd be looking,” she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Lucas frowned. “Zis is not good...are zey keeping physical records zen razer zan digital vons?”

“Probably,” Rat nodded, before typing again.

A few minutes later, a new profile popped up. Rat read through Morgan's information quietly.

A strained squeak of alarm escaped her throat. She now knew why Morgan's name seemed familiar. Rat _had_ read about this clone before, back when she was trying to figure out who might have been killing off the European clones.

Rat and Lucas could only stare in silent horror at the information displayed, and hope they could tell Aila before it was too late.

\--

Prison was becoming boring and draining already. The stale routine was bringing Aila down, although she was glad to be avoiding drama with both inmates and officers. As she sat alone in the canteen to eat breakfast the next morning, she was well aware of Sylvester eyeing her from across the room, and grinning evily as she gossiped with the other inmates. Aila was content to ignore her, though. DYAD was still on her mind.

A figure caught Aila's attention out the corner of her eye. The doctor looked up to see Tracy standing next to her table with a breakfast tray in her hand. “Mind if I sit?” Tracy asked, but she sat down opposite Aila without waiting for a response. “Other tables are full.”

Aila blinked and glanced around. There were a few empty seats close to Sylvester's table.

Tracy smirked as though reading her mind. “Yeah, I'm _not_ sitting anywhere near those arseholes,” she grumbled as she sipped her coffee. “Their bleedin' shrieking's a pain in the arse at the best of times, never mind first thing in the morning after a sleepless night.”

Aila just nodded. She clutched the phone card in her pocket and avoided looking at Tracy. She wasn't sure what to say, and continued to wonder why Tracy insisted on making an effort with her. From what she'd seen, Tracy liked to be alone rather than socialise with the other inmates.

Aila sighed and rubbed her eyes suddenly, tiredness momentarily getting the better of her. DYAD was turning her into a paranoid wreck, just as it did most other self-aware clones. Giving in to this paranoia would only make her prison experience harder to deal with.

“Rough night too, huh?” Tracy asked her.

Aila lowered her hand and gave a brief nod. “Doubt I'll ever get used to all the shouting and screaming going off all night.”

“Yeah,” Tracy agreed. “You won't. It’s only 1st February. You’ve only been in two weeks.”

Aila squirmed restlessly. She wondered if it was too early to call Rat yet, but sitting around waiting wasn't doing her any good. She glanced down at her mostly untouched breakfast, willing herself to eat more, but she just wasn't hungry.

Finally, when Morgan entered the canteen accompanied by Saffi, Aila stood from her chair. Even if Rat wasn't awake yet, Aila was willing to take her chances to try calling anyway. Anything was better than sitting around battling with her conflicting thoughts.

“Phone call,” Aila grumbled to Tracy. She left the canteen in a hurry, leaving Tracy sitting alone, and pretended not to see Morgan as she passed. She didn't feel like talking to anyone until Rat could provide her with the information she so desperately needed.

Thankfully, nobody was around wanting to use the phones, but a few officers were scattered around keeping watch. Aila did her best to ignore them as she approached the nearest phone. She put in her phone card and called Rat's number, holding her breath in anticipation.

“Aila?” Rat spoke urgently.

“Oh thank God,” Aila breathed. “Thought it might be too early to call, but...why are you awake at this hour?”

“Be glad I _am,_ ” Rat told her. “Aila, you need to stay the hell away from Morgan. She's dangerous – _really_ dangerous.”

Aila froze for a second. “What do you mean?”

“Like _Helena_ dangerous, but worse!” Rat exclaimed.

Aila paled a bit, and felt sick suddenly. “Wh-what do you mean?” she asked again. “Are you sure?”

“I've seen her file before!” Rat said in a panic. “And I've been up nearly all night reading through her file to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I wanted to be awake in case you called early. I _had_ to warn you about this – Aila, she's a complete psychopath! She's been violent and murderous for years; nobody's ever been able to work out why – I'm looking at it again now – it says here she _killed_ all her previous monitors before getting sent down – now she has two monitors; one's an inmate named Saffron, and the other's an officer...there's way too much info here about Morgan being manipulative and dangerous, but just _stay away_ from her, OK?”

Aila felt her throat tighten a bit. Did that mean Morgan had lied about her crime? Was she imprisoned for a psychotic murder rather than a surgical accident? Aila glanced back into the canteen, where Morgan was now filling up a breakfast tray. She looked entirely ordinary. When Aila thought of psychotic behaviour, she pictured someone like Helena.

Then again, if Morgan was worse, it only made sense. Being able to hide such evil was the deadliest skill one could have.

“Aila?!” Rat's panicked voice demanded.

“S-sorry,” Aila gasped. “I just...what about _my_ monitor?”

“Yours isn't listed,” Rat told her. “I think Leekie left it out on purpose, but compared to Morgan, your monitor _really_ isn't an issue at the minute. _She's_ the one you've got to watch out for!”

“Yeah...sure,” Aila murmured. She was well aware that Rat seemed to think she wasn't taking this seriously, but the truth was Aila didn't know how to react to something like this. She didn't know how to avoid someone so dangerous without making it obvious she was avoiding her.

“Call me as often as you can,” Rat ordered her. “I have a plan to track someone down; she might be able to help you get out of there.”

“Yeah...shite. Saffron...I-I think she's my _cellmate_. Calls herself Saffi, and is always hanging around with Morgan. Can you look into her when you get a chance to and see if there's anything I should know about her?” Aila asked as she eyed the tall woman from across the room.

“Your cellmate?!” Rat gasped, sounding alarmed again.

Aila nodded. “Yeah, um...Diriscoul's her surname, I think. Cell 2-11.”

“Y-Yeah, I'll see what I can find out about her,” Rat groaned, sounding like she was writing something down. “Jesus Christ...I _never_ thought any of us would ever have a run-in with Morgan...there's _so_ many separate murders listed here that the _cops_ never even caught onto – mostly in Canada where she was born...she's been in prison before now too, but somehow always found ways to escape when she got bored of sitting still. DYAD didn't bloody help either. Instead of trying to stop _her_ , they always stopped the cops going after her, and never made the escapes public so that innocent clones didn't get dragged into the mess. From what I can tell, DYAD view Morgan as a valuable case study for understanding spontaneous psychopathic behaviour. Bastards will really do anything for a bit of data. It's _sick!_ ”

“Somehow that doesn't surprise me,” Aila muttered, fidgeting with the phone cord nervously as she stood there. “Right...well just don't stress yourself out too much, OK? I'll just...stay alert and try not to tip her off that I know for now, I guess...she's not been hostile at all towards me so far...she just seems curious, but thanks for the heads up, Rat.”

“Yeah...oh, one more thing. Don't accept anything like make-up from her. From what I read, her signature killing pattern is putting people to sleep with some kind of special drug-laced make-up. Usually lipstick,” Rat explained urgently.

“Right...got it,” Aila said, feeling slightly light-headed as she tried to process all of this news. “Look, a few people are wanting to use the phones, so I need to go. I'll call back when I can. Stay safe, Rat.”

“Yeah, you too,” Rat said, sounding extremely worried.

Aila hung up the phone then, rubbing her aching arm as she absently paced around the phone area while other people took their turns. She knew she wouldn't be able to just avoid Morgan. That would be too obvious, especially if Saffi really was a monitor. Aila couldn't get out of spending the night with Saffi, and she didn't have a viable reason to want to swap cells with someone.

“Shit...” Aila muttered. She darted through the eating area to make her way up to her cell quickly, feeling nauseous again. She ignored the curious looks of the inmates and the annoyed shouts of the officers who told her to stop running.

On the way up the stairs, Aila again caught sight of Tracy. She was watching Aila with a curious frown. Aila frowned too, and quickly made it the rest of the way up the stairs as a knot formed in her stomach.

Could it be that Tracy had a reason for insisting on being friendly with her? Was it possible that Tracy was her monitor? Or maybe it was Sylvester? The blonde woman was never far away as she continued harassing Aila to admit she was Hailee.

Aila sat on her bed and buried her face in her hand. As if prison wasn't bad enough already.

\--

Leigh looked over the letter in her hand as she sipped at her morning tea. She'd written it out the night before after Gabby had gone to bed. She hoped she could get a meeting with her aunt arranged sooner rather than later. When she was convinced she hadn't missed anything, the hairdresser sealed the letter up and wrote out the prison's address.

Bringing her tea into the living room, Leigh set up her laptop and decided to check her email. She hadn't looked in a while due to being distracted by the situation with Gabby, and was stunned to see a reply from her parents. She opened the email quickly, and took in the information displayed on the screen.

_'Sorry for the late reply, Ashleigh! As for your questions...I'm sorry, but we've never met anyone called Amelia. You said that she was the surrogate who was originally going to give her child to the Duncans before Dr. Leekie came to us for Rachel? We knew that the Duncans were receiving a child from a surrogate, but that was it. We never met her or knew why she ran off. Sorry._

_How are you holding up, honey? We miss you, and hope we can see you and your friends again soon. Love you._

_Mum and Dad'_

Leigh stared at the email, her hand twitching slightly as if wanting to type a reply. She was extremely tempted to tell her parents that Gabby was living with her, and ask about what Jake had told her...but she decided it would be better to stick to her word and wait until she saw them in person again to ask any questions.

The hairdresser sighed, rubbing her head as she re-read the email. If her parents had no idea where Amelia was, where else could she look for answers? Rachel's parents were dead, and what little documentation they had on Amelia was already in DYAD's database, and already proved to be useless in locating her now.

The photograph of the Duncans flashed in Leigh's mind, as well as Project Leda. Leigh was itching to know why her parents had the photo, and what Project Leda was. She resisted asking them about it, though. DYAD would trace her emails, and Leigh still didn't want them to know about the photo.

Instead of dwelling on it, Leigh simply typed out a reply to ask her parents to tell her if they remembered any small detail about Amelia, and that she missed them too. With everything going on, it was easy to ignore the dull ache that her parents' absence caused, but she always missed them. Leigh hoped they could live without fear of DYAD one day.

Glancing up at the sound of footsteps above her, Leigh quickly sent off the email and closed off that tab. The last thing she needed was for Gabby to see her emailing her parents. For now, the hairdresser figured that she should focus on getting in contact with her aunt, and getting Gabby set up at a school.

As much as she wanted to find the missing surrogate, Leigh knew there was nothing more she could do until she had a lead to follow.


	10. Chapter 9

Leigh was expecting a response from her aunt to take more than a few weeks, but she was surprised. After sending the request for a visiting order on a Friday, Leigh found a letter from the prison in the mail the following Tuesday (or rather, Gabby found it and opened it in the excitement of hearing from her mother before Leigh was even awake). The hairdresser was glad to see the visiting order attached, and instantly filled it out ready to send back.

“Hurry up and get ready and we can post it back on the way,” Leigh told her cousin.

“Do we _have_ to?” Gabby argued. “Why can't Shaun send it?”

“Shaun's not here today,” Leigh told her tiredly. She almost added 'thank God' to the end of that statement, but refrained from doing so.

“This is _so_ unfair,” Gabby whined.

Leigh just rolled her eyes as she hurried to make breakfast for herself and Gabby. Today, they were visiting one of the schools they'd been looking at. It was the reason Shaun was excused from monitoring duties for the day, after Leigh spent the weekend nagging Rachel for a day to herself.

Honestly, Leigh couldn't remember being this annoying when _she_ was a teenager. Rachel had her moments back in the day, but it still didn't compare to Gabby's constant childish behaviour towards everything.

“Just make an effort to be good today. Your mum will be glad to hear something positive like you getting into a good school, so bear that in mind for when you see her,” Leigh ordered. “And _stop_ opening my mail! It's a total invasion of privacy.”

“Aye,” Gabby muttered. “Whatever.”

Leigh knew she'd need to sort out a visit to Scotland as soon as possible. DYAD could just get over it if they had a problem with it. She knew Shaun would probably be sent to make sure she didn't try to run, but the thought alone annoyed Leigh already. She'd rather take Rachel with her, but that wasn't going to happen. Rachel was always so busy.

Leigh and Gabby got ready in silence, and then left to visit the school for the day.

\--

Danielle smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, carefully curling her hair. To her disappointment, the blue and green hues she'd put in before going into rehab had started to fade back to brown. She didn't let that bother her for too long though, knowing today was a big day.

She was finally leaving the facility.

Danielle still suffered from a few lingering effects of detoxing, but she knew it would be easier to manage with Rat acting as a sobriety companion. She hoped having so many other things to focus on would also help take her mind off of the cravings.

She couldn't believe Aila was in prison, Leigh was dead, and Katja was missing. It didn't feel real, but Danielle wanted to help Rat get their remaining sisters back together in whatever way she could. It was the least she could do after being so cold at the beginning.

A knock at the door drew the skater out of her thoughts. Danielle crossed the room to open the door after setting down the curling iron. Rat and Lucas stood there, and Danielle could tell that something had happened. Rat seemed extremely agitated, even as she tried to mask it.

“What 'appened?” the skater asked.

Rat shook her head. “Nothing yet. Just found out there's another clone in prison with Aila who's a _right_ psycho. I'm worried about her.”

Danielle frowned. “Aila will be fine, I am sure,” she said.

Rat sighed and nodded, having been trying to tell herself that since the week before. “Anyway...are you all packed and everything, Danielle?”

“Oui, I did not 'ave much stuff to begin wiz. Are we going straight from 'ere to Scotland?” Danielle asked, looking between Rat and Lucas.

“No...I want to make a side trip first. There's someone here in town I want to get in touch with who might be able to help,” Rat told her. “We'll head out whenever you're ready. I can go finish off the paperwork downstairs in the meantime.”

Danielle nodded. “OK, just let me finish doing my 'air and zen I will be ready to go.”

Lucas waited patiently while Danielle finished her hair and Rat finished her paperwork and packed away her laptop. When everyone was ready, Danielle checked out of the facility, and then looked to Rat to lead the way out. The French clone was more nervous than she cared to admit now the reality of actually leaving rehab started to sink in.

But mostly, for the first time since she could remember, Danielle felt free. Life on the run from DYAD and killer clones was dangerous, but it was Danielle's own choice. That was important.

“I am ready,” Danielle announced then. “Let's go.”

Rat and Lucas just smiled as they all left.

\--

“Ez zis it?” Lucas asked as they approached a large white building.

Rat nodded, taking a moment to just look at the building. “Yeah. Jesus...this place hasn't changed a bit,” she murmured as she glanced at the others. The hacker then shifted her gaze to the trees across the road. “The house where Cecile and I grew up is just past the trees over there. There's a trail leading straight to it...or at least there was back in the day.”

“Zis is a library, non?” Danielle asked, reading the French signs around the building.

Rat nodded. “Yeah. The woman we're here to see is a librarian by trade. At least on the surface.”

Rat walked into the building. It was impossible not to be slightly overwhelmed by the sense of nostalgia. Growing up, Rat spent more time in this building than she did anywhere else.

A short man was sitting at the front desk. He looked up and smiled at the group politely. “Bonjour. Puis-je vous aider?”

“Oui,” Rat answered, walking over to him. “Est Lydia Ravenstein ici? Je dois la voir.”

“Lydia?” the man murmured with a thoughtful look. “Je pense qu'elle est dans le bureau à l'arrière. Dois-je aller la chercher?”

“Non, je sais où il est. Merci,” Rat told him. She glanced at Lucas, who looked completely lost. “This way.”

Rat led Lucas and Danielle through rows and rows of bookcases and people. After a few minutes, a large wooden door on the back wall came into view. A sign was bolted onto it explaining that it was for staff only. Rat completely ignored this though and walked right in.

“The lock on this door has never really worked right,” she told the others. “Most people don't know that though, and just ignore it because of the sign.”

Danielle glanced around curiously. “Zis place is pretty small for a library,” she commented as she followed Rat.

“It is, but it's nice. There's a housing unit below the library as well, where Lydia was renting out from last time I saw her. Can't get much closer to work than living right below work,” Rat told her. She paused before another wooden door.

The hacker hesitated slightly, suddenly looking mildly apprehensive, though she forced herself to push past it and knock loudly on the door. After a moment, a voice answered, telling them to come in.

Rat opened the door slowly and peeked into the office. It was a large circular room lined with more bookshelves. In the center of the room was a wooden desk with piles of papers stacked up. An older woman with long, dark graying hair sat at the desk, looking down at a paper in her hand. She glanced up at the group as they approached. Her eyes widened in shock at the clones.

“Regina?!” Lydia gasped, standing and making her way over to the group. She paused in front of Rat. She was slightly shorter than the clones, but still gave off an aura of someone not to be messed with. “Jesus bloody _Christ_...never thought I'd see you again, kid. The hell happened that's made ya want to come back here?” She spoke in a distinct British accent.

Rat smiled in spite of herself as she saw the older woman. She surprised Lucas and Danielle by immediately hugging Lydia tightly. “Good to see you again, Lydia. There's a _lot_ I need to tell you about...” she murmured, before glancing back at Lucas and Danielle. She shifted to stand beside Lydia. “Lucas, Danielle...I'd like to introduce you to Lydia Ravenstein. I've known her since I was five. She's my mentor...taught me everything I know about hacking. She's also kinda like a mother figure to me,” she explained. “Lucas Weiss and Danielle Fournier are allies in the fight against DYAD. As for why I came back...well...I-I need some help again, from your old friends...”

\--

“So that whole DYAD mess is still going on then?” Lydia asked after everyone settled in. They were sitting around the living room of the apartment below the library.

Rat nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. So much has happened this past year.”

The librarian listened quietly as Rat explained everything that had happened, starting with clones being killed in Europe. Rat talked about Leigh, and what everyone had been through before splitting up, and explained how Beth and Katja were missing.

“We need to make our way to Canada, but Leekie knows all of our names. You gave me my first fake ID. I was hoping you could reach out to the others and arrange to have IDs made for me and Danielle...” Rat trailed off. She looked at Lucas questioningly. She didn't even know how long Lucas would be with them. “And maybe Lucas, if he wants one.”

Lydia nodded, sipping at her tea. “I'll see what I can do, but it might take some time to get everything together.”

“Yeah, that's fine,” Rat nodded. “Also...do you have any friends who have any sort of influence over the prison system in Scotland?”

Lydia arched an eyebrow. “Can't say I expected that question. Depends on what kind of influence you're looking to get a handle on.”

“The doctor, Aila...she was caught by a couple of bounty hunters and sent down for the murder of her monitor. DYAD are well aware of it, and fast-tracked the process to make sure she's out of the way. We _need_ her, but we're not sure how to get her out of there in a way that wouldn't raise alarm.”

Lydia nodded and grabbed an extremely fancy laptop from her desk. “I don't know anyone personally, but I'll poke around the network and see if any of my contacts might know someone who'd be able to help. Still want the IDs even if we can't get your friend out?"

Rat nodded. “Yes,” she murmured. The thought of going to Canada without Aila sickened her, but she knew the doctor would tell her to go on and find Beth and Katja.

Lydia looked between the three. “You're all welcome to shack up here, or stay where you've been staying. Whatever floats your fancy. It'll probably be at least a few weeks before all of the necessary documentation can be foraged to get you all out of the country.”

“Danke,” Lucas said with a nod. “I vill go viz zem, if zat is fine.”

“You're sure?” Danielle asked, staring at him. “DYAD won't come looking for you?”

“I am sure zey vill, but it is fine if I am going under a different name,” Lucas said. “I vant to be able to help you girls.”

Rat stared at him for a moment, before nodding. She only hoped that things worked out for everyone in the coming weeks.

\--

“Anything the matter, dearie?”

Aila snapped herself out of her thoughts. She was sitting in the canteen as she always did first thing in the morning, and found herself staring over at Morgan and Saffi on the other side of the room. She'd been so lost in thought that she failed to notice them getting up and crossing over to confront her.

“Huh? No, no,” Aila said quickly. “Just spacing out. Excuse me.” She shot up and attempted to leave, but was stopped by Morgan grabbing her arm. Aila managed not to flinch, but she stared at the other clone uncertainly, not liking the blank look on her face.

“You seem restless,” Morgan pointed out. “I understand it's tough in here. Is Sylvester's gang still giving you trouble?”

Aila pulled her arm out of Morgan's grasp and shook her head. “No, no, everything's good. I can handle _them,_ ” she insisted. She cast a dark glance at Saffi, who was watching the clones curiously. Aila swallowed hard and backed away from Morgan. “Sorry, it's just...phone call.”

Aila whipped around and left the canteen in a hurry, heart racing a bit. She'd been avoiding Morgan as best she could since Rat revealed her true nature the week before, but the doctor was sure the Morgan was starting to catch on. She almost hoped some kind of drama _would_ occur, if it meant she had an excuse to demand a cell swap. Each night she spent locked up with Saffi pushed Aila one step closer to confronting her about her role as DYAD monitor. Rat had filled her in on some of Saffi's backstory, and Aila couldn't help being extremely wary of her.

“Jesus bloody Christ,” Aila muttered to herself. She leaned against the wall by the phones, glad for a bit of space.

Tracy appeared next to her after a minute. Aila almost jumped, but managed to keep a blank face.

“I'm _fine,_ ” Aila said before Tracy could say anything.

“Actually, I was going to ask you to shift so I can use the phone,” Tracy said with a smirk. “I'm meant to be seeing my kid today, but she's a stroppy brat. I wanna call to make sure she's still coming.”

Aila raised her eyebrows a bit. “You have a kid?”

“Mmhmm,” Tracy nodded. “Two, actually. A younger daughter and an older son. Had a third as well, but things happened and I wasn't able to raise her. Long story. Anyway, excuse me...”

Aila nodded and moved over so Tracy could use the phones. Aila wished that she herself could get a visit with Rat and Danielle, but that might prove to be a bad idea now Leekie knew where she was. Could he possibly arrange to corner and capture Rat and Danielle if they visited?

Aila peeked out from the phone area. She was happy to not see Morgan or Saffi around anywhere. Seeing the time, Aila decided she should make her way to the library. It was still early, but she hated standing around feeling paranoid.

The small room was quiet and reasonably deserted. There seemed to only be a few inmates and no officers around. Aila made her way over to her book cart to put things away, though she paused after a moment and looked around. For some reason, she felt as though she was being watched, but she shook her head and scolded herself for being so freaked out all the time.

Out the corner of her eye, Aila saw a handful of inmates enter the room. She forced herself to ignore them, until a flash of blonde hair entered her line of sight. Startled, Aila looked up and found herself face to face with Sylvester.

“Ello Hailee. Mind if we pop by for a chat?” she sneered.

Aila glanced behind her quickly, and soon realised the group of inmates that had come in moments before had surrounded her, blocking off all escape. Some faces were familiar, and some weren't. She'd been so preoccupied worrying about Morgan and DYAD that she'd nearly forgotten the other problem she faced while locked up in here.

“What do you want?” Aila asked, steeling herself up for whatever was about to happen. “I told you already, you've got the wrong girl! Just leave me alone; I don't know any of you or anything about this Hailee!”

Sylvester smiled coldly. “Prove it then. Show me your left arm.”

Aila blinked and shrunk back slightly. She knew Sylvester was looking to see the large patch of scarred skin on her arm just below her shoulder, which would prove she _was_ in fact Hailee.

Aila looked around for a way out. Could she buy time somehow until an officer appeared? She knew fighting her way out would be impossible. Even though her arm was almost fully healed, it was still in its sling for now and was in no fit state for punching or blocking.

“Shite...” she squeaked, backing up when Sylvester took a step closer and loomed over her threateningly. Aila released a shrill scream of alarm when two inmates grabbed her roughly, attempting to pull the long sleeve of her left arm up.

“GET _OFF!_ LET ME GO!” Aila snarled. She kicked at the inmates who had hold of her.

“WHAT in the dickens is going on in here?!” a new voice pierced through the library. “Sylvester! What are you doing THIS time?!”

Everyone froze and looked over, seeing Officer Holmes in the doorway. Officer Howard stood beside her, and Aila was stunned to see Morgan and Saffi there as well, observing quietly.

“Nothing miss,” Sylvester shot back at Holmes. She nodded to the other inmates, signalling for them to release Aila. “Aila saw a spider and freaked and we was helpin' get rid of it.”

“It's dead now,” another inmate piped up. “Squished it.”

“Dropped a book on it,” Sylvester said. She gestured to a book on the floor, which had fallen during the struggle.

Aila stared around at the group with wide eyes, still too bristled to say anything. Holmes looked completely disgusted as she moved forward to rush the inmates from the library.

“Anyone who isn't meant to be here, leave now!” she barked at them all.

“But miss!” one of the inmates shrieked. “We wanna read!”

“You lot are too loud for an activity like reading,” Holmes snapped. “Now move your feet or you're all on report!”

The inmates groaned and leered at Holmes as they left, and Howard followed to make sure they stayed away. Sylvester glared back at Aila through the windows as she left, but Aila wasn't looking. She readjusted her shirt and stood up straight.

Holmes watched her disapprovingly. “Get back to work, MacPherson,” she ordered the doctor. “And disinfect that book while you're at it.”

Holmes left the library. Aila resisted the urge to kick the bookshelf as she leaned down to pick up the book. Honestly, spiders were the last thing she was scared of, especially in a place like this...and how was she meant to disinfect a book, anyway? Holmes was surely being difficult and demanding just for the sake of it.

As Aila got back to work, she hoped spiders would invade Sylvester's cell.

\--

“Uh...Gabby? You might want to move?”

Leigh observed her cousin through the car window as she stood in visitors' carpark of the prison. Gabby was still sitting in the passenger seat, her body stiff and rigid out of nerves. The two of them, along with Shaun, had checked into a B&B in Scotland the previous night, and were due to return to London the following morning.

“Just go in without me,” Gabby mumbled pathetically.

“I can't do that Gabby,” Leigh groaned. “I'm not about to leave you in the car by yourself, and your mum really wants to see you.”

“Well maybe I don't wanna see _her!_ ” Gabby shrieked.

Leigh sighed and shook her head as she opened the car door. “Yes, you _do._ Why are you being like this? Why have you suddenly changed your mind?”

Gabby folded her arms tightly around herself and stared out of the front window, eyes watering a bit. Leigh frowned and leaned down so she was level with her.

“You can tell me, Gabby.”

“I just...all I do is cause trouble,” Gabby squeaked. “What if she gets really mad at me for all this?”

Leigh faltered for a moment, and blinked. “Gabby, you're the _last_ person to blame for any of it. Everyone owes _you_ answers, not the other way around. Your mum sounded worried when I spoke to her, not angry. The only person she's mad at right now is Ray. Please...you know we need to do this.”

Gabby remained still for several minutes longer, before sighing. “Ya really think she ain't gonna be mad at me?”

“I really think she won't be mad at you, Gabby. Whatever happened, it _wasn't_ your fault,” Leigh assured her gently.

Gabby still looked nervous and unconvinced, but she reluctantly shifted out of the car. Leigh smiled and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly as they approached the prison. She was glad that Shaun stayed at the B&B for the day.

The tall gray building loomed over them as they walked through the gates and into the reception hall. A few other people were waiting around, though Leigh ignored them and approached the desk where the officers were working. One officer, whose nametag read ' _Holmes_ ', shuffled around behind the desk. She was muttering loudly about how absurd it was that psychopaths were afraid of spiders.

“Um, excuse me?” Leigh asked to get her attention.

Holmes glanced up and froze as she took in Leigh's face. “Oh _no_...not _another_ one,” she groaned. “Here to see your loony sisters then?”

Leigh blinked, taken aback. Gabby watched the two with wide eyes. “What? Sisters? Uh, no...we're here to see Tracy Wilks,” Leigh explained, her mind reeling slightly.

Were there other clones here? She only ever saw Aila's file for living clones in Scotland. It didn't make any sense, but why else would the officer say she had sisters?

Holmes just grunted. “Oh, is there actually a sane one in the trio? Not surprised you're not looking to see the likes of them. Why, just an hour ago MacPherson was causing a _right_ ruckus over a bleedin' spider. I tell ya, got no right to be like that with being a killer and all. _Honestly_...I feel more sorry for the spider than I do for that one.”

Leigh froze on the spot, her eyes wide in stunned shock. “Wait, WHAT?! _MacPherson?!_ As in _AILA_ MacPherson?” she gasped. Aila was in _prison?_ What happened to Aila, Katja, and Rat going to Canada?

Holmes looked unimpressed. “What, didn't know? Gobby little madam got picked up some weeks ago. Never stopped mouthing off since she's been in. The things we put up with...right, give me your visiting order and then go through that door to be searched,” she pointed at a nearby doorway. “Then find your prisoner and take a seat.”

Leigh nodded numbly and handed over the form before leading Gabby towards the door. She looked as though she'd seen a ghost, but kept quiet as she and Gabby waited in the line of visitors to be searched.

When the officers were satisfied that Leigh and Gabby were safe to proceed, Gabby glanced up at her cousin with a raised eyebrow. “The fuck was _that_ about? Who's Aila MacPherson?”

“N-No one...don't worry about it,” Leigh whispered, trying to compose herself even as her mind raced. She was here to see Tracy and get answers about Gabby. She could worry about whether or not Aila was really in prison later on.

It didn't take long to spot Tracy. It had been some years since Leigh had seen her, and even though she looked older and slightly unkempt, Leigh recognised her instantly. The inmate smiled widely to see Leigh and Gabby. She stood up to hug her niece and daughter tightly.

“Gabby,” she spoke, still clinging to her child after Leigh stepped away.

Gabby failed to hold back a muffled sob, even as the officers in the room leered at Tracy for the prolonged contact.

“Back in your seat, Wilks!” one of them shouted.

Leigh sat down awkwardly and waited for Tracy and Gabby to do the same. Gabby took a seat next to Leigh, opposite her mother.

Tracy observed them both, her eyes slightly tearful. “When I get my hands on your father, I swear to God...” she growled.

Gabby shifted uncomfortably and avoided her mother's gaze. “Aye, well he ain't my father though, is he?”

Leigh looked directly at Tracy then, taking note of the guilty and ashamed look on her face.

“Yeah...” she admitted quietly. “Reckon I got some explaining to do.”

“Too right,” Leigh agreed. “About more things than one.”

Gabby paid no attention to Leigh's words, currently too overwhelmed to see her mother to care about much else. Tracy, however, eyed Leigh suspiciously, and Leigh watched her right back.

If Aila was here on this wing, that _had_ to mean Tracy had seen her.


	11. Chapter 10

“So Ashleigh tells me you're going to school in London now,” Tracy commented a short while later. She and Gabby had been sitting in silence to begin with, neither sure how to start the conversation which desperately needed to be had. Leigh watched, feeling more and more impatient as time progressed.

“Aye,” Gabby muttered. She stared at the table, looking miserable. “I got accepted last week. Start next Monday.”

“Well that's good, isn't it?” Tracy said brightly. “Bet the schools in London are dead posh compared to our old area...sounds like Ashleigh's really looking after you proper.”

Gabby glared up at her mother then. “I have to wear a stupid posh uniform with a tie and everythin',” she complained. “And all the kids there are _snobs_. I ain't gonna fit in there, I just know it. I'll just get bullied, _again_.”

“Now you listen to me,” Tracy told her evenly. She leaned forward in her seat a bit and held her daughter's gaze. “ _Nobody_ is gonna hurt you at this new school, 'cause nobody is gonna know about me. That's the only reason it happened before. This a chance for a fresh start, Gabs. Tell them I'm dead if you have to. You shouldn't have to suffer because of what _I've_ done.”

“I don't wanna tell 'em you're dead,” Gabby grumbled. “But I don't wanna tell 'em you're a murderer either.”

“Then _don't,_ ” Tracy told her. “You don't owe anyone an explanation.”

“Yeah,” Leigh agreed. “But _you_ do.”

Tracy raised her eyebrows at Leigh, surprised a bit at the harsh tone in her voice.

“The visit will be over soon, so can we discuss what we came to discuss?” Leigh asked. “You and my dad...just... _why?_ ”

Gabby looked at her mother expectantly. Tracy sighed and leaned back in her chair as she rubbed her head.

“It wasn't some long-term affair if that's what you're thinking,” she told Leigh. “It was just the once. Dunno what we was thinking, honestly.”

“Jake said it _was_ an affair,” Leigh said.

“It wasn't,” Tracy insisted. “That's just Ray spreading shit. Me and your dad, it was just a one-off.”

“So that makes it better?” Leigh challenged her.

“Of course it don't make it better. We screwed up.”

“So I _was_ a mistake,” Gabby squeaked.

Tracy shook her head, and so did Leigh. “No,” they both said together.

“That's not what I mean,” Tracy promised. “You're the only thing I _don't_ regret, Gabs.”

“And my mum and dad...they knew all this time too?” Leigh questioned. “And my mum just...put it aside, like it was nothing?”

“Oh she was angry, believe you me,” Tracy told her. “Had many fights over it, me and her...but there was always...bigger things at stake. Your mum was the only one of us four with her head screwed on, Ashleigh. She found it in herself to forgive your dad and move on in order to focus on what was important.”

“Like what?” Leigh asked.

Tracy hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Well, _you_ , of course. What else?”

Leigh narrowed her eyes as she processed this. Why was it perfectly fine to ruin the lives of Gabby and Jake with all these problems, yet Leigh had never once heard so much as a whisper of all that had happened while she was growing up? Even when Tracy was arrested for murder, Leigh wasn't allowed to know anything. Something wasn't adding up...

“Well what 'bout me and Jake then?! We wasn't important?!” Gabby demanded, pulling the hairdresser out of her thoughts.

Tracy looked at her daughter, surprised. “I never said that. I never meant for the pair of you to suffer in all this.”

Gabby glared down at the table, crossing her arms. “We ain't done nothin' _but_ suffer since ya left! Talk about forgivin' and focusin' on what's important...no one's _ever_ forgiven me! Always gettin' kicked about and made to live out on the street like I asked for it n'all! And Jake ain't any better off! Why is it _we_ gotta be the ones scroungin' around to survive?!” the young girl ranted.

Tracy frowned. “I'm sorry. Neither of you deserved what you got, but at least now you got a chance to start anew, right? Ya don't gotta be tied down by the past now. You can go and get a good education and make a life for yourself.”

Gabby said nothing, and just stared at the floor as she fought not to break down. The remainder of the visit was tense and awkward. Gabby shot out of her chair the minute the officers told everyone to pack it in and get ready to leave. The blonde bit her lip hard and hugged her mother tightly again, and then turned to rush out.

Leigh watched her go with a frown before turning back to Tracy. “Oi...give me a call on my cell phone tonight when you can. There's something I want to ask you, but I don't want Gabby overhearing,” she told her.

Tracy raised an eyebrow, staring at her niece for a moment. “Sure...any particular time sound good?”

“Um...how late can you call?” Leigh asked.

“Screws start rounding us up around nine.”

“Right, make it eight then,” Leigh decided.

“All right...thank you for everything you're doing, Ashleigh. I mean that. Take good care of my baby girl,” Tracy said quietly.

Leigh nodded. “I'll do my best for her,” she promised. She gave Tracy a short hug, before walking towards the door.

To her relief, Gabby was leaning against the wall just outside of the reception area. The blonde had her eyes closed and seemed to be trying to fight away tears. Leigh frowned and put her hand on her cousin's shoulder, making the young girl jump a bit and wipe her eyes.

“I'm _fine_ ,” she insisted before Leigh could speak.

The hairdresser sighed quietly, but nodded. “It's still early in the day. Would you like to go anywhere?” she asked instead, hoping to cheer the young girl up.

Gabby shrugged. “You're drivin', so it's up to you,” she mumbled.

Leigh wasn't sure where exactly they could go that might cheer Gabby up, but she could figure it out in the car. As they left, Leigh again caught sight of Holmes watching her. The hairdresser frowned deeply. It was shocking enough to learn that Aila might very well be in this place, but there was something else that was bothering Leigh on top of that. Holmes had mentioned _more than one_ sister.

If Aila was one of them, who was the other?

\--

Rat was bored. Now well into February, the hacker found herself becoming restless at staying still for so long. The group had decided to relocate to Lydia's house for the time being, after Rat assured them that the place was completely safe from DYAD.

The Swiss clone was happy and content in the evenings when she was able to spend time with her former mentor and catch up on everything, but she couldn't help feeling restless during the day when Lydia was working in the library.

Danielle and Lucas were sitting on the sofa in front of a coffee table, where Lucas was teaching Danielle to play chess. Rat observed quietly. She hadn't caught Lucas making any more odd phone calls, and was slowly learning to trust him more. She didn't know what Lucas told DYAD after his free week was up, but he kept insisting that everything was under control whenever anyone asked him about it.

“Zis piece...it only goes forward?” Danielle asked, holding up a tower piece.

“Zat von can go in any direction, but only in a straight line,” Lucas explained. “Zee pawns, zey can only move forward unless attacking. Zen zey go von space diagonal.”

“Right...” Danielle mumbled, struggling a bit. “Zis game is more complex zan I zought...I 'ave seen people play it, but didnt know zere was so much to remember.”

Lucas chuckled. “It is not bad vonce you learn zee basics,” he said encouragingly.

“I 'ave a lot of patience; I can learn zis,” Danielle told him.

Rat let out an uncharacteristic grunt of laughter at this statement. Danielle and Lucas peered around at her curiously, but Rat just shook her head. “You? _Patient?_ ” she teased.

She thought for a moment Danielle would become offended, but the French clone just smirked and rolled her eyes. “Being a skater, I 'ad many 'ours and days and weeks learning zee same tricks and routines again and again,” she told Rat matter-of-factly. “Moving figures across a board will be _easy_ compared to it.”

“Yeah, but chess requires _logic_ ,” Rat jested with a grin. “Not throwing a diva strop to get your way.”

“ _Diva?!_ ” Danielle repeated, voice raised now. She set down her chess pieces and raised her eyebrows at Rat. “I am no such zing. Skating requires using your brain _also_ , just in a different way. I would like to see all you attempt it.” She was tempted to make a joke about Aila doing so and failing miserably, but thought better of it. That was still far too raw to be making jokes about.

“Danielle is being good,” Lucas pointed out.

“Oui,” Danielle agreed. “To be 'onest, doing zings like zis, zey 'elp a lot. Cravings are still a struggle at times. In rehab, we played many games like zis.”

“Vhy do you not have a go at playing, Rat?” Lucas inquired.

Rat just shook her head as she stood up and stretched. “No, I'm good. You two carry on.”

Rat excused herself for a moment. She approached the window and looked out into the street in the next room, barely listening to the muffled sounds of Danielle and Lucas talking. She leaned against the windowsill and let out a short sigh.

When Lydia returned, she decided she'd ask again how much longer this process was going to take. Being back in her home town like this was starting to take its toll. Rat absently pulled at the fox pendant hanging around her neck as she watched cars drive by outside. There were places she wanted to see before they departed for Scotland, but the worry of DYAD showing up was holding Rat back. Even if they had no idea where Rat currently was, she wouldn't put it past DYAD to have men lurking in certain familiar places on the off chance Rat showed up there.

Maybe taking Lucas with her was an option she'd have to consider. After all, she thought as turned away from the window, this might be the last time they were in Geneva for a while. When else would Lucas get to visit his third daughter's grave?

\--

“Am I allowed to ask what in God's name you're wearing?” Shaun asked that evening.

Leigh and Gabby had recently returned from their day out. They'd decided to visit a zoo which wasn't too far from the prison, and Leigh had switched off her phone to ignore calls and texts from Shaun all day. Gabby was in a much better mood when they returned to the B&B, her arms full of stuffed animals and souvenirs Leigh had agreed to purchase. It was the least she could do after everything Gabby had been through, and hoped it would make the young girl more co-operative about starting school on Monday.

But Gabby had also insisted that Leigh wear the stuffed zebra hat they'd been given when they first arrived at the zoo. Staff members had been handing them out for free, and Leigh forgot she was wearing it.

“Anything to keep Gabby happy,” Leigh grumbled. She tore the hat off and tossed it onto the sofa. Shaun continued to stare at her, and Leigh stared back. “She's just an excitable kid deep down. Not that I have to explain myself to you.”

“Actually, yes you do,” Shaun told her. “Rachel wishes to know how the visit went today.”

Leigh froze to hear these words. “ _Rachel_ wishes to know, or DYAD does?”

“ _Rachel_ does,” Shaun insisted

“Bullshit,” Leigh shot. “More like I need to give DYAD a reason for _everything_ I do these days. Why's she questioning _you_ anyway?”

“Because you've failed to respond to calls and texts all day, and _I'm_ the one who'll be held responsible,” Shaun snapped. “She is expecting you to call her back as soon as possible.”

Leigh resisted a groan. She wasn't in the mood for Rachel telling her off about being impossible to contact. She knew her sister would _know_ she'd been at the zoo by monitoring the microchip, but she also knew Rachel didn't like being ignored.

“I'll call her later on when Gabby's asleep,” Leigh said. “I'm expecting a call from the prison later – _don't_ tell Gabby – I'm still trying to sort stuff out with her mum, so keep this to yourself, please.”

Shaun raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “When do I _ever_ talk to your cousin?” he pointed out dryly.

Leigh nodded, eyeing the clock mounted on the wall. There was still some time until Tracy was due to call, but she didn't want to go out to eat for fear of losing track of time. This wasn't a conversation Leigh wanted to have in a public place.

“Oi, go out and get us something from one of the nearby takeaways,” Leigh told Shaun, who merely stared at the hairdresser in disdain.

“Which one?” Shaun asked flatly, barely resisting the urge to glare.

“Hmm...” Leigh murmured. She glanced in the other room, where Gabby was sorting through her new toys. “Oi Gabs! Feel like a Chinese takeaway?”

“Sure, I'm not bothered,” Gabby called back distractedly.

Leigh nodded and looked back at Shaun. “There you go. Just get us our usual meals and you can get whatever, if you want anything.”

Shaun shook his head and muttered something under his breath before making his way towards the door. When he was gone, Leigh leaned back on the sofa and took out her phone to scroll through her various messages and missed calls.

“Jesus fucking _Christ_ Rachel, clingy much?” she muttered, amazed at just how many calls and texts she missed. Rachel _knew_ she was at a zoo, so why was she so desperate for attention?

Leigh stared at her twin's name silently for a moment. If Aila was in prison, did that mean Rachel _knew_ and just didn't bother mentioning anything about it? Or was DYAD unaware that the doctor was behind bars? Also, would Rachel be able to find out who the other clone in prison was?

Leigh thought that if Aila was there, it would only be logical that either Rat or Katja was the other one. The thought of _any_ of her friends being in prison sickened Leigh, but she wouldn't be able to know for sure until she spoke with Tracy.

The time dragged on. Dinner consisted of Gabby excitedly talking about the animals they'd seen. Leigh couldn't help being happy that she'd managed to take the blonde girl's mind off of her meeting with her mother, if only for a bit. It was nice to see her cousin so content to talk about something positive.

Leigh wasn't at all surprised to find Gabby fast asleep on the sofa a short time later. It had been a long day, after all. Leigh made her way to the bedroom and stared down at her phone, pacing back and forth. Should she call Rachel? Or wait until after Tracy called? Looking at the time, Leigh knew she should speak with Tracy first. Rachel could always call back.

When the phone in her hand rang at just past eight, the hairdresser sat on the bed and answered it. “Hey, Tracy?”

“Yeah...try to be quick, Ashleigh. I got a buncha mardy bitches all wanting to use the phones,” Tracy's voice answered. In the background, Leigh could hear the voices of others, as well as a muffled _'Piss off and wait your turn!'_ from Tracy.

“Yeah, sorry. I just need to know...is there a girl in there who looks like me?” Leigh asked, trying to be somewhat tactful without giving away that she knew Aila personally.

Tracy didn't say anything. Leigh wondered if the connection was bad, or if Tracy hadn't heard her over the racket of screaming inmates, but after a few more seconds, Tracy gave a response.

“Err,” she muttered. “What do you mean?”

Leigh bit her lip anxiously. If it wasn't true, Tracy would have just told her straight. “Like a double,” Leigh explained, deciding to be more straight forward. “Like a twin. Something an officer said earlier suggested that there is.”

Another long pause on Tracy's end followed. Leigh knew from her silence that there was in fact a clone on the wing.

“Tracy?” Leigh spoke urgently.

The line went dead. Leigh knew Tracy had hung up.

“ _Shit,_ ” Leigh breathed. She lowered the phone and stared at it blankly for a while. If Tracy really did know Aila was there, why would she avoid talking to Leigh about it, unless she was involved? Did this mean Tracy already knew of clones? Was she keeping something from the hairdresser?

What now? She couldn't call Tracy back, and something told Leigh her aunt wouldn't be willing to contact her again any time soon.

“Rachel,” Leigh murmured to herself. She scrolled through her contacts list to find her sister's name, heart pounding fiercely. Rachel was her best chance at finding out what exactly was going on at the prison.

As soon as Rachel answered, though, Leigh felt paranoia and fear holding her back. Was _this_ why Rachel had been trying to reach her all day? Was she curious to find out if Leigh had been alerted? Maybe DYAD _wanted_ Leigh to know her friends were locked up, as if to prove Leigh was powerless to do anything about it...as if to prove Leigh really had no reason to run or fight anymore.

It made Leigh want to fight even more, though. She had no way of knowing if Rachel was in on this, but she knew now she couldn't ask her sister. She would continue getting information from Tracy instead. All DYAD had to know was that Leigh was contacting her on behalf of Gabby.

“Leigh, are you there or not?” Rachel's voice spoke. “I walked out of an extremely important meeting with Topside to take this call. Marion was not pleased. Do not waste my time.”

Leigh snapped herself out of her thoughts and managed a grin. “You ditched your meeting to talk to me?” She found it both amusing and worrying that Rachel would do such a thing. She couldn't understand Rachel's urgency to talk to her, unless she really _was_ looking to learn how much Leigh knew.

“I have been attempting to reach you all day,” Rachel told her curtly.

“Yeah, Shaun said. I was at the zoo with Gabby.”

“So I noticed.”

“What do you want, Rachel?” Leigh asked, sounding serious now. “Is there something going on that you're not telling me?”

A brief pause followed. “Like _what_ , precisely?” Rachel asked. She sounded a bit affronted. “I am simply inquiring as to how things are progressing for you, but you have been too busy playing mother these last few weeks to stay in touch.”

Leigh resisted a sigh and flopped down on the bed as she held the phone to her ear. “Isn't that what Shaun's for?” she asked coldly. “To report to you about me?”

“You know full well that is not what I meant,” Rachel snapped.

Leigh closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah...we should talk more often.” It was too hard to explain that talking to Rachel was a struggle. Leigh constantly worried Rachel might betray her to DYAD in some way.

Rachel changed the subject quickly, too stubborn to admit out loud she just wanted to catch up with her sister. “Aldous is growing impatient with the hunt for Amelia. He fears Gabby is taking up all your time.”

Leigh's eyes snapped open again, and she stared at the ceiling. “Well yeah, she's a kid! She needs my help. Sorry, but she's way more important than finding Amelia at the minute.” She wasn't about to admit she was struggling with the search. The most important thing at the minute was finding out what Tracy knew about Aila, but Leigh couldn't tell Rachel that. “I took her to the zoo today because she's been through hell, and I wanted to give her a good day for a change. I switched off my phone because I didn't want DYAD shit getting in the way and ruining it for her. I just want her to be happy again. She's never had much chance to be a normal kid, and I want to change that. She starts school on Monday, so I should have more time then to work on Amelia.”

A short silence followed. On the other end of the line, Rachel was vaguely reminded of her own childhood, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. “You would make a fine mother, Leigh,” she said quietly.

Leigh managed to laugh. “I'm sorry, was that a _compliment?_ ”

“Simply an observation,” Rachel told her, making Leigh smirk. Rachel really had to have an excuse for everything rather than just admitting it was a compliment. “When are you coming back to London?”

“Couple of days probably,” Leigh said with a shrug, forgetting for a moment that Rachel couldn't see her. “I figured there wasn't much point driving all the way up here just for an hour long visit with my aunt, so I wanted to make a trip out of it.”

“I see. Do try not to take too long. I wish to see you again in the near future. Perhaps for dinner one evening,” Rachel told her.

Leigh frowned slightly. “I'll take as long as I want, Rachel,” she told her bluntly. “You'll know when I'm back anyway, so I suppose we can figure something out then.” Truthfully, the thought of seeing Rachel in person made Leigh anxious now she suspected the blonde of being involved with putting her friends in prison, but she couldn't say that.

“Very well,” Rachel said curtly. “Marion is insisting I return to the meeting now. I will call again when there is time. Try to keep your phone on, please, and let me know if you uncover anything about Amelia.”

“Yeah, will do,” Leigh said, even though the twins both knew Leigh would have no problems turning her phone off again if it meant ignoring DYAD.

With that, the call ended. Leigh's thoughts returned to Tracy. If it was true her aunt knew about clones, how could Leigh find out for sure? She could send a letter to Tracy, but that would take time and could be risky if DYAD intercepted her mail. She didn't think they'd be above doing that.

Leigh stood up and stretched, walking back out to the living room. Gabby was still fast asleep on the sofa, and she looked comfortable. Leigh didn't have the heart to shift her to bed, and decided to put a blanket around her instead. Gabby could move to bed herself if she woke up in the night.

The hairdresser paused for a moment as she looked at her cousin. An idea suddenly came to her, though she didn't know if it would work or not. If she couldn't get answers from Tracy for a while, maybe she could try to get answers from Ray.

The man was still living in Scotland, as far as Leigh knew. This would be her only chance for some time to find out if he or Tracy knew anything about clones. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot Leigh had right now.

With that thought in mind, Leigh made her way to bed to mull over her options for how to go about visiting Ray without anyone knowing.

\--

Pale moonlight filtered into Cell 2-11. Aila sat cross-legged in bed, leaning against the wall. As expected, it was another loud and sleepless night. The doctor removed the sling from her left arm, carefully moving and stretching the limb to test how painful it was to move. Aila knew that if Sylvester's gang was going to get physical with her, she'd need to be ready.

Aila saw a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye, and glanced over to see Saffi shifting around in bed. The doctor glared at her darkly. Saffi apparently noticed, because she sat up and stretched.

“Jeeze, it just me or are the rest of this lot bein' louder than normal tonight? Can't get a wink of sleep with the racket,” the tall woman commented.

Aila said nothing, but continued to glare. She wanted to point out that Saffi claimed to not even hear the noise anymore, but she figured it would be pointless to do so.

The two women stared at each other for a moment from across the room, before Saffi spoke again. “Yo, why're ya suddenly all glarey to me n'Morgan? We do somethin' to piss ya off or what?”

Aila swallowed hard. This could be her chance to demand answers...but at the same time, doing so could very well have its consequences. Despite the risks though, Aila knew she needed to know. It would just keep driving her crazy otherwise. “You mean beside the fact Morgan's a heartless sociopath and you're working for DYAD?”

Saffi stared at Aila with wide eyes for the span of a heartbeat, before forcing a laugh. “The fuck're you on about, yo? Been listenin' to rumours or what?”

“Don't play dumb,” Aila said evenly, unwilling to back down now as she recalled everything Rat had told her. “I know about Morgan, and I know about you too. Your real name is Saffron Monroe. You're a DYAD psychologist from Australia who's been tasked with figuring out why there seems to be a naturally psychopathic clone in the bunch. We could keep playing along with the facade, but I don't think there's much point in keeping up the act with me anymore.”

Saffi stared at her for a moment, before smirking, shaking her head slightly. “Well, I suppose I can't say I'm entirely surprised. They said it'd only be a matter of time before you got the update from your hacker friend,” she said, now speaking in a light Australian accent. “However, what is it you think you'll accomplish by calling me out?”

“I want to know who my monitor is,” Aila said, staring at her. “Is it you?”

Saffi shook her head, looking amused. “Me? I assure you, I have no interest in you or anything you do. Aldous tried to get me to do it, due to the random chance that we ended up sharing a cell, but I have enough trouble keeping an eye on my own clone. Besides, you're not _nearly_ as interesting. He told me that even though you've been accused of murder, you're more or less harmless. As for your monitor, I don't know who it is. It's not my business to know that.”

“Interesting?” Aila asked, stunned. “You find a psychopathic murderer _interesting_?”

“Absolutely,” Saffi nodded. “I study abnormal psychology for a living, after all, and have been assured to receive a generous reward if I can figure out this particular mystery.”

“You _do_ know she killed all her previous monitors, right?” Aila asked, unable to wrap her head around this. Was a bit of money worth putting a life in danger?

“Oh I'm well aware. No need to worry though. Let's just say I have a bit of a failsafe in place, should she ever try it with me,” Saffi said, looking down at her left hand. Aila didn't know what she was looking at. There was nothing at all in or on Saffi's hand, but Aila somehow knew she wouldn't get an explanation.

Saffi then looked back at Aila. “Was that all you were hoping to learn? Who your monitor is?”

Aila said nothing, staring down at the floor. If this woman didn't know (or knew and wouldn't tell her), and her file didn't have a name on it, then how would she possibly figure out who it was? Aila knew the whole point _was_ for her to not be able to figure it out, and that only served to increase the anger and annoyance that she felt towards DYAD. Why did they always manage to get their way?

“Suppose this is the part where you tell me not to say anything about this to Morgan?” Aila muttered.

Saffi chuckled. “Feel free to say whatever you want. It's not like you have anything to back it up with, and you know it.”

Aila scowled, looking away. She _did_ know it. No one in their right mind would believe in the existence of clones without proof, and Aila wasn't able to prove it without Rat. Even if she could prove it though, would it change anything? It wasn't like Aila was looking to make Morgan an ally. The thought of being allied with someone like her made Aila's skin crawl.

For now, Aila figured that all she could do was stay alert and try to figure out who her monitor was by herself. With that thought in mind, the doctor eased herself down onto the bed, deciding to keep her sling off.

With the screaming inmates and the thoughts racing around in her mind, Aila knew it was going to be another long night.


	12. Chapter 11

“I want to go somewhere,” Rat told Lucas early the following morning as they ate breakfast.

Lucas looked up at her, surprised. “Oh? Vere?”

Rat stared down at her bowl of cereal, before bringing a hand up to the fox pendant around her neck. “The cemetery,” she said quietly, knowing he'd understand. “You deserve the chance to see her at least once. I figure it might as well be while we're sitting around doing nothing.”

Lucas frowned, becoming quite solemn then. He knew Rat was showing him an incredible amount of trust by offering to bring him to the place where his third daughter was buried. “I vould like zat,” he murmured. “Do you vant to bring Danielle too?”

“I'll ask her if she wants to come too,” Rat nodded, not wanting to exclude the skater. She didn't mind bringing Danielle along, and figured the French clone could just hang out at the library if she didn't want to come with them.

Lucas nodded, staring down at his hands. For a moment, Rat thought he looked quite sad and guilty. She wondered if it was because of being unable to meet Cecile while she was still alive due to DYAD's interference with their upbringing.

When Danielle woke up, Rat explained where they were going to go and asked if the skater wanted to come too. Danielle decided to stay at the library though, knowing the trip to the cemetery would be a personal one.

Danielle could see that Rat and Lucas still had a rather tentative relationship, and she hoped they could bond a bit. She assured them she'd be fine staying by herself for a little while, and told them she'd focus on practising chess in the meantime.

“Right, just give me a call if you need anything. We shouldn't be gone for long,” Rat said as she put her coat on. Even though winter was nearly over, it was still fairly cold outside.

Danielle giggled a bit. “I will be _fine_ Ratty. Do not worry about me so much,” she told her. Truthfully, she wasn't quite as confident as she sounded, but she didn't want to deny Rat the chance to bond with her birth father.

Rat looked a bit worried still, but she nodded anyway and led Lucas up the stairs, through the door into the main library area, and then out onto the street. The trip was mostly silent, interrupted only by a side trip to a local florist.

“This is the place,” Rat said as they stepped out onto a field of dead grass. “We should probably be quick in case any DYAD minions are lurking around.”

“Ja,” Lucas agreed. He followed Rat up a small hill overlooking Lake Geneva near the back of the cemetery.

A single gravestone was placed at the top of the hill. Rat sighed softly and knelt before it to place the flowers at the base of the cold rock. Lucas crept closer, looking down at the grave quietly.

_'Cecile M. Colbert_

_1984-2005_

_Le renard sauvage, vous êtes maintenant libre'_

Lucas glanced at Rat. “Vat does zee inscription mean?”

“It means _'Wild fox, you are now free'_ ,” Rat told him. “ _'Fox'_ was her nickname, like how mine is _'Rat'_. Proper loved the things...always said she wanted a pet one.”

Lucas crouched down to get a closer look, but he remained quiet. Rat found herself watching him for a while, before turning to look back at the grave.

Neither of them spoke for a good ten minutes. Rat wondered what was running through the German's mind, but found she didn't have the heart to question him. Instead, she looked at the grave for a final time, and placed a hand on it.

“We should go,” she said quietly. She willed herself to let go of the stone, and stood up. Being here was both a comfort and a cause of distress; the latter especially when she worried about being out in the open for too long. The sooner she ripped herself away from this place, the easier it would be.

Lucas remained sitting though, even as Rat tried to rush away. “I did vant you all,” he spoke up.

Rat stopped in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder. Lucas still had his back to her, his head bowed as he focused on Cecile's grave.

“I...” Lucas began, struggling a bit. “Ven your mother died...your birth mother...it was so unexpected. It changed everyzing.”

“You don't have to do this, Lucas,” Rat told him.

Lucas just shook his head as he continued. “I vanted zat vee be a family, and wizout your mother to keep you all safe, it...it could not happen. DYAD...I zought I vas vorking for something good. But zee Proletheans, zey made life dangerous. I knew I could not keep you...zey vould have found you and killed you...”

Rat nodded, even though Lucas still didn't turn to look at her.

“I held zee three of you just vonce, just for a moment,” Lucas murmured. “Before Leekie came to take you. It vas my decision to send you all avay, but...it still felt like you vere stolen. Cecile died and she did not know I vas so sorry for all of it. She did not know her parents vanted her. Zat I loved her.”

Rat stared numbly at Lucas, who fell silent. With the constant drama and fear the clones had to endure, it hadn't occurred to the hacker just how much Lucas had lost. His wife; Rat's _real_ mother died, and it cost Lucas his daughters as well. He'd been a slave to DYAD and the Proletheans ever since.

“She would have known,” Rat said to Lucas. “For that moment, when you held her, she would have felt it.”

Lucas nodded. He only hoped that was the truth. He got to his feet at last and turned to look at Rat, his eyes shining slightly with unshed tears.

  
“Come,” he said, stepping away from the grave. “You still have many other sisters out zere. Let us prepare to help zem.”

Lucas walked past Rat to leave the cemetary, offering a weak smile as he went. With one last glance at Cecile's grave, Rat's mind flashed back to Leigh, to Katja, to Aila, and to everyone who had impacted her life in the last year or so.

“Bye C,” she muttered, and then she left.

\--

Leigh looked out the window of the B&B. So far she only had one idea for going to see Ray without Gabby knowing, though she wasn't sure if it was really a good idea. Glancing over at Shaun, the hairdresser frowned, and then decided she had no other plans and that she probably shouldn't waste more time.

“Oi, Shaun. I need to head out somewhere, but Gabby can't know. Stay here and keep her occupied until I get back, right?” Leigh said. “Tell her I needed to go to a local salon to order something for work, or whatever...”

Shaun raised an eyebrow. “You can't be serious.”

“I am,” Leigh nodded. “I shouldn't be gone for long, so it won't be too hard to keep an eye on her.”

Shaun narrowed his eyes slightly. “Am I allowed to ask _where_ you're going?”

“No,” Leigh muttered. “Rachel will know thanks to this bloody chip, but the rest of DYAD can piss off out of my personal business.”

Shaun stared at her for several minutes, before giving a sigh. “Fine. I'll make sure your cousin stays put. Just try not to take too long. She's yours to deal with, not mine.”

“Yeah, I know. It's raining anyway, so she probably won't feel like doing much regardless. Just let her watch TV or whatever.”

The hairdresser walked out of the room and into the living room, amused to find Gabby doing exactly that already. “Hey Gabs, I need to step out for a minute. My salon called and asked if I could do them a favour and order some stuff from one of our suppliers located around here.”

Gabby raised an eyebrow. “The hell? Why the fuck do you gotta do it? It's pissing it down out there.”

“Because then they'll owe _me_ a favour,” Leigh said cheekily. “Don't worry, I won't be gone long. I'll pick up lunch on the way back too. Just relax and keep watching TV or whatever.”

Gabby looked uncertain then, and glanced at Shaun. “He gonna be stayin' too?”

“Yeah, he'll stay here with you. Don't worry, he's harmless,” Leigh assured her, giving Shaun a too-sweet smile that clearly said she'd tell Rachel if anything happened to Gabby.

Gabby still looked unconvinced, but Leigh made it out the door before she could protest. The hairdresser let out a sigh of relief when she stepped out onto the street, looking down at the map on her phone. “Right, now where the fuck am I going?”

\--

The rain continued to fall as Leigh made it from bus stop to bus stop, until she ended up in the rougher areas of town. Broken glass and trash littered the streets, and shady-looking people lurked in the alleyways.

Leigh crossed her arms over her chest and walked quickly, feeling horribly out of place with her nice-looking outfit and bright scarf. She hoped this trip would be worth it. The area reminded her greatly of when she had been stranded on the streets of Geneva with Aila and Katja.

Looking down at her phone, the hairdresser was happy to know she was close to the house. When she reached a building with the right number on the side, Leigh darted up the steps (trying to avoid stepping on broken bottles and old needles), and knocked on the door.

After several minutes, the door opened. Leigh looked up to see a much older man with a rough beard and bloodshot eyes. Though much rougher-looking than she remembered, she recognised him as her uncle.

Ray glared down at Leigh. “Whatever yer sellin', I ain't interested. Piss off.”

“I'm not selling anything, actually,” Leigh said firmly. “Uncle Ray? It's Ashleigh. We talked on the phone a few weeks ago.”

Ray blinked, before glaring again. “Ashleigh? The fuck're you doin' all the way up here? Don't think I'll be takin' the little bitch back. You can keep 'er,” he growled.

Leigh glared up at him, gritting her teeth slightly. “Don't worry, I'm not letting her come back to this shithole any time soon. I was hoping to ask you some questions about something completely unrelated,” she told him tensely.

“Questions about _what?_ ” Ray snapped impatiently.

Leigh hesitated for only a moment, and then her next words were out of her mouth before she could help it. “About me,” she said firmly. “And about DYAD.”

Ray's eyes grew a little wider as he took in Leigh's words. “I don't know nothin' about no DYAD.”

“Are you sure about that?” Leigh asked him. “My parents didn't even tell you and Tracy where I came from?”

Ray shook his head with a scowl. Leigh remained unfazed, even as her uncle attempted to slam shut the door, instead grabbing it and pushing it back open with all her strength.

“So you _do_ know about DYAD,” Leigh shot at him.

“I ain't telling you shit,” Ray spat. “None of that were ever my concern.”

“Ray, I'm not leaving until I get some answers, so let me in. What would social services have to say about you kicking a fourteen-year-old out on the streets? Bet they'd be interested to see the state of this place as well. I'm sure that's weed I can smell coming from inside, and are those _track marks_ on your arm?”

Ray leered at Leigh with narrowed eyes, outraged that she dared to threaten him. Leigh was equally disgusted. She didn't know how long her uncle had been doing this sort of thing, but she only hoped it had started after Gabby left. She thought Gabby would have mentioned it if it was happening when she was around, since she was so upset by Jake selling drugs for money.

Ray released his grip on the door, allowing Leigh to push it open. “Get in,” he grumbled.

Leigh entered immediately. She did her best to ignore the smell the house gave out, and how messy and unattended the house looked. Ray led her to the living room and flopped on the sofa, but Leigh remained standing in the middle of the cluttered floor. Dozens of used cigarettes scattered the coffee table, and ash lay on the pillows on the sofa.

“Well get on with it then,” Ray told her.

“What do you know about DYAD?” Leigh asked.

Ray shrugged. He leaned forward to snatch a packet of chewing gum off the coffee table, and popped a piece into his mouth. “I know it's where my brother got you from,” he admitted.

Leigh nodded. “Go on.”

Ray chewed his gum obnoxiously, and threw the packet back on the table. He looked up at Leigh. “And I know there are others.”

“Other _what?_ ” Leigh demanded. She wanted to hear him say it to be sure they were on the same level.

“Others like you, obviously,” Ray explained. “Clones.”

Leigh allowed a sarcastic, disbelieving smirk to escape her. All those years she'd been told to keep such things a secret, even from her own family, and Ray and Tracy had known all along.

“How'd you find out?” Leigh asked. “My dad told you? I was told nobody was to know.”

“Nobody who weren't involved _was_ allowed to know,” Ray informed her as he chewed. “But see, we _were_ involved. Me and Tracy were involved right from the start.”

Leigh stared. “Explain.”

Ray leaned back on the sofa with a short sigh. “Your dad and me grew up poor, see? Never had much. Both met your mum and Tracy at work after finishin' high school, but we didn't have no fancy qualifications, and good jobs was hard to come by. Your mum found other work at that animal shelter of hers, and she got promotion after promotion. She was always the most hard-working of the four of us...anyway, the extra money was good for her and your dad. They was better off, but me and Tracy was still strugglin'.”

Ray paused for a moment to chew his gum, while Leigh continued to stare.

“Then your folks decided they wanted kids,” Ray continued gruffly. “Couldn't have 'em naturally. Somethin' to do with your mum's fertility; I dunno all the details about that.”

“Yeah, considering Spencer managed to father Gabby,” Leigh shot coldly.

Ray gave Leigh a dark look, but decided he didn't have the energy to talk about that. “They looked all over for help. Considered adoption, but they found DYAD instead. They was offered money to have a self-aware clone.”

“And they accepted,” Leigh said.

“No, not exactly,” Ray told her. “Me and Tracy was strugglin', like I said. Your mum and dad didn't want to be _paid_ to have a kid. That's when DYAD approached _us_. Janet and Spencer were taking part in the experiment for free; DYAD didn't have to pay 'em. But they heard about us from your mum and dad, and that...Leekie? That were his name?”

“Yeah,” Leigh said, not liking where this was going.

“He made us a deal. Wanted to pay us to raise another self-aware child.”

Leigh's heart dropped as a heavy, sick feeling settled into her. “You and Tracy had a clone child,” she stated.

“Aye,” Ray grunted.

“So where the hell is she?!” Leigh snapped.

Ray gave a short laugh. “Tracy changed her mind. Why d'ya think we carried on livin' rough all these years? She put the kid up for adoption, and I had _no_ say in it. Leekie said that meant we didn't get to be paid, and that was the end of it. Me and Tracy did nothin' but fight after that. It were no wonder she went and slept with Spencer.”

“But why?” Leigh asked.

“Because she's a cheatin' scumbag,” Ray grumbled.

“I didn't mean that!” Leigh said furiously. “I mean why did Tracy change her mind? Why did she put her child up for adoption?”

“Said it were somethin' to do with overhearin' one of the other participants – a surrogate.”

“A surrogate?!” Leigh repeated. “What was her name?”

“Can't remember.”

“ _Try_ to remember,” Leigh ordered Ray.

“Why's this so important anyway?” Ray demanded. “Does it really matter?”

“Yes, it bloody well matters, now just tell me!” Leigh bellowed.

Ray huffed a sigh. “I really _don't_ remember her name. Amanda? Amy? Summet like that?”

“Amelia?” Leigh dared to ask.

“Aye, might've been,” Ray said with a shrug. “Tracy said this surrogate found out stuff, and wanted to hide her kid. Whatever Tracy overheard, it made her stop trustin' DYAD. She didn't want any part in it, and she gave the kid away, like she was nothin' _._ ”

Leigh blinked, completely baffled. She wanted to point out that Ray had done just that with Gabby, but the thoughts barely formed in her mind, let alone made it out of her mouth.

Tracy knew Amelia. Leigh had a lead.

“So what happened to this other clone then; the one Tracy carried?” Leigh asked desperately now.

“Hell if I know,” Ray grumbled. “I never cared to find out.”

Leigh was feeling rather sick now. She had to wonder if Ray was only bitter about losing the promised money, rather than a potential daughter.

“And then Tracy went to prison,” Leigh murmured to herself. She looked back up at Ray with wide eyes. “Is that connected too? Was DYAD involved in _that?_ ”

“I don't know nothin' about why Tracy went and killed, all right?” Ray boomed. He stood up from the sofa, suddenly looking threatening and fed up as he loomed over Leigh. “She _never_ spoke to _no one_ about why she gone and done it! She never even denied that she did it! Bloody psychopath! Why do you think Jake went through so much hell at school after that?! 'Cause his mum didn't even try to defend why she did what she did! If I knew why she done it, maybe things wouldn't have got so bad!”

Leigh remained silent for a moment, and backed down. She could see the desperation in Ray's face, and hear it in his voice. She was quite sure he was being honest. She would have to speak to Tracy about all this again in person.

“All right,” she said quietly, voice barely even a whisper. “I'll go. I won't bother you again.”

“I should hope not,” Ray spat. “My life's shit enough without smart-arse little bitches like you comin' here makin' threats. Leave me be. DYAD's _your_ world; not mine, and I want nothin' to do with _any_ of it.”

Leigh just nodded numbly as she moved to leave the living room. She felt cold as Ray's words sunk in. She'd never viewed DYAD as 'her world' before, but when she heard it from Ray's perspective, she knew it was true. Just because she wasn't on DYAD's side like Rachel was, it didn't mean she wasn't sucked into it. There was still no escaping it for her, or any clone.

“I'll see myself out,” she said to Ray.

“Whatever,” Ray grunted. He threw himself back on the sofa, and reached for a bottle of beer on the table.

Leigh paused at the living room door. She turned to look back at him. “One last question,” she said. A thought had occurred to her. “Your clone daughter...who was she? Did she have a name?”

Ray stared up at her as he sipped his beer. He lowered the bottle slightly and gave a brief nod. “Aye,” he said. “Hailee, her name was. We called her Hailee.”

\--

Once again at Lochaire, Aila struggled to sleep. After lunch, she'd gone back to her cell to try to relax and rest a bit. She still didn't feel safe doing so, but at this point she figured she didn't feel safe no matter what in this place, and her constant lack of sleep was starting to negatively affect her everyday routine.

Several times during her morning shift in the library, Aila found herself zoning out and having an extremely hard time focusing. She also felt quite exhausted, though that was hardly surprising when she barely slept more than an hour a night. Aila managed to have a short nap, but was woken up again by noise outside her cell.

Since then, the doctor had simply been lying awake in bed, silently thinking about everything that had happened. She missed Rat and Katja desperately, and even wouldn't mind seeing Danielle again despite their less than perfect relationship. Aila frowned as her thoughts turned to Leigh. It was still impossible to think of the hairdresser without feeling a sickening wave of grief and anger.

Shaking her head, Aila forced her thoughts to redirect to the problem of her monitor. Not knowing who it was was making her more and more paranoid of everyone in the prison. Aila was quickly discovering that prison was a fishbowl-type community where news traveled fast. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that her monitor could be someone completely random who had never even spoken to Aila.

On the other hand though, the doctor felt it was far more likely to be someone she had interacted with. Her two big suspects were still Tracy and Sylvester, since both seemed to have a deep interest in staying near her for one reason or another.

Aila groaned and rubbed her eyes. Thinking about this endlessly was driving her mad. Sitting up, Aila decided she wasn't going to get any more sleep. She'd rather go and do something productive. She recalled that during their first meeting, Morgan mentioned the prison having an outdoor area. Aila hadn't yet seen it, but she suddenly wanted to get some fresh air. It had been too long since she had last been out running.

Making her way downstairs, Aila located Officer Howard. “Excuse me miss, I heard we're allowed to go outside during the day. Can you tell me where the door is to do that?”

Howard checked her watch, then nodded. “Go up through that corridor over there,” she pointed. “And hook a left. It's just past where the store is. You'll be allowed out until five, unless ya cause a ruckus. Fair warning though, it's been pissing it down all day.”

“Cheers, miss,” Aila said with a smile. She didn't particularly care if it was raining; she just wanted the air to help clear her head.

Aila couldn't help but smile at the sight of a large open field as she made her way through the door. It was fenced off with chain-link fences that were laced with barbed wire, and there were several towers around with armed guards. There were very few inmates around due to the rain, which Aila was happy about.

Wandering around the grounds, the doctor took a moment to breathe and just _be_. It was so hard to have any alone time while inside due to the amount of people shoved into the same small space. She didn't think running would be a good idea when everything was wet and muddy, but she wanted to make a habit of doing so when it was dry again.

The creak of the door caught Aila's attention. She glanced over her shoulder, and blinked slightly in surprise to see Tracy.

Tracy stared at her for a moment, before speaking. “The hell're you doin' out here in the rain? Gonna catch a chill if you're not careful.”

“Just felt like having a walk,” Aila said defensively. “What about _you_ then? Why are you out here?”

“Needed a smoke, and can't do that inside,” Tracy said with a light grin. She took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up as she leaned against the wall.

Aila frowned, feeling rather uneasy then. It could be random chance that Tracy really just came out for a smoke... but what if it wasn't? What if Tracy had followed her out and was just using her smoking as a cover?

Aila didn't feel like enjoying the cold air anymore.

Aila rushed past Tracy to go back inside. She felt the knot in her stomach tighten. With every passing day, she became more and more convinced that Tracy was her monitor. Now the only question was what could she do about it?


	13. Chapter 12

Everything about London was busy. Gabby was struggling to adapt to the enormous queues of traffic on complicated roads, and the constant noise pollution. It was so different to her home in Scotland, even if it was a much more pleasant area to live in.

School, thankfully, wasn't as stressful as she thought it would be. Most of the other children in her class were polite and well-behaved, but Gabby still felt out of place around them. They were well-spoken, and took pride in their appearance, whereas Gabby found the uniforms snooty and uncomfortable. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to wearing a tie and blazer.

But at least nobody gave her any trouble. Gabby was used to being surrounded by aggressive children, so she was more relieved than she let on that that wasn't an issue here. Not all of her new classmates were particularly welcoming, but they weren't horrible either. Gabby was quite happy to be left alone while she got used to the place.

“I wasn't gonna send you to a bad school, was I?” Leigh told her over and over. “Complain about them being 'snobs' all you want, but you'll get a great education there, and you'll be around positive people.”

Gabby wasn't convinced she'd get a good education, for the simple fact she didn't think she was smart enough. She wasn't going to admit that, though, but she found that arguing with Leigh about it was useless.

She'd been attending the school for two weeks already. During the first week, Gabby skipped class to hide in the local park, deciding she couldn't be bothered. She wasn't brave enough to admit she found it overwhelming, but after the school phoned Leigh about this, Gabby wasn't about to do it again. Her cousin could be scary sometimes. Why did Leigh have to be so _angry_ all the time? Did she see Gabby as a burden too, just as Ray did?

The blonde girl had finished school that afternoon, and hadn't bothered to go home yet. She was sitting on a bench in the park, eating a bag of sweets she'd purchased from the local shop. She didn't like being at Leigh's house if she could help it; not with that weird Shaun person hanging around and making Leigh scarier than usual.

Every so often, other people wandered through the park, walking dogs or riding bikes. Gabby was content to just watch them, and smiled when families came to let their children play on the playground.

“ _B!_ Get back here!”

Gabby was caught completely off guard, barely registering the yelling voice before a blur of white sped past her and ran around the bench. Perplexed, Gabby twisted herself around so she could see behind her, but the animal had made it to the front again before she could catch a glimpse.

An eager yap sounded at Gabby's feet. She turned back around and gazed down at the fluffy dog, who seemed to be smiling with her gray-blue tongue out as she stared at Gabby's bag of sweets. Gabby didn't have time to respond, as the figure of a boy ran up the path to grab hold of the dog's leash.

The boy had hold of another leash as well, this one attached to a black and white dog who contentedly trotted along beside his owner. Panting slightly, the boy grabbed the white dog's leash, before looking at Gabby apologetically. “Sorry, miss! Dog had a proper spazz fit and got away from me,” he explained, before glaring down at the dog. “Bianca! Arrêtez la mendicité!” he scolded.

Bianca didn't seem to be listening though and continued staring up at Gabby's sweets. Sighing, the boy tugged at the leash to at least get the small animal away from the stranger. “Sorry...she's my older sister's dog, and doesn't really listen to me too well,” he explained, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“It's fine,” Gabby said, more amused than anything. She noticed that the boy didn't speak in a British accent, and found herself a bit curious about where he was from. His accent, or lack thereof, didn't sound like any she'd heard before.

The black dog trotted over to Gabby curiously, sniffing at her leg. The boy groaned. “Oh come on Charles, don't you go and be rude too!”

Charles merely looked up at Gabby curiously, tilting his head at her. Gabby smiled a bit. “Can I pet him?” she asked.

“Yeah sure, he's really well-behaved,” the boy said with a smile. “My sis is really good at training dogs. Bianca's good most of the time, but she's still really young so she just gets excitable and darts off still.”

Gabby smiled as she petted Charles's head. The old dog sat down and lightly nuzzled her hand, seeming to be perfectly happy to get the attention, even if he didn't know the person who sat before him.

“Charles is a lot less excitable since he's getting on in years,” the boy told Gabby. “Gonna be eleven this year, I think. Bianca's only just going on three.”

“He seems sweet,” Gabby said. “I don't got any pets. Always wanted some though.”

The boy smiled, and then looked at her uniform. “You go to Fairmeadow? Cool, I do as well.”

Gabby smiled awkwardly, not wanting to admit that it was completely overwhelming to be there. “Uh...yeah, just started the other week,” she said with a shrug.

“Cool,” the boy nodded. “It's not too bad once you get used to it. I think for me the most annoying thing was the uniform,” he laughed. “We didn't wear uniforms where I used to live in Switzerland.”

“Wow, can't say I ever met anyone from there before,” Gabby said, now knowing why she didn't recognise his accent.

“Yeah, I was born in Geneva. We moved here a good few years ago cause of my parents' work.”

“Ah,” Gabby nodded. “Bet that sucked, huh?”

“Just a bit,” the boy chuckled. “But I think I got over it pretty quickly.”

The two stood around talking for another few minutes. Gabby found herself surprisingly at ease just being able to have a chat with another teenager like a normal girl.

The boy checked his watch and then looked back at Gabby. “I should probably head off; my mom's gonna be waiting,” he said, tugging at Bianca's leash again. The fluffy white dog, who had flopped down and curled up, gave a whine of protest before getting back on her feet and shaking the dirt out of her fur.

“It was nice talking to you,” he said politely. “Sorry again for the dogs bothering you.”

“It's fine,” Gabby smiled. “Um..hey, what's your name? I'm Gabby.”

“Ian,” the boy told her with a grin. “Maybe I'll see you at school some time?”

“Yeah, maybe," Gabby nodded, wondering if she might have just made a friend.

After Ian walked off with the two dogs, Gabby leaned back on the bench and smiled, before carrying on eating her sweets. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad if it was that easy to make friends.

\--

“Right, your IDs are here. Sorry for the wait,” Lydia said one evening as she handed out three long brown envelopes. “The network are currently making arrangements with a contact of ours in Canada. We're just waiting for her to tell us that everything's all set.”

Rat picked up one of the envelopes to have a look inside. There were several documents, as well as new passports. The three had been given the surname 'Mills', which Rat was fine with. It was generic enough and easy to remember.

Danielle and Lucas both curiously looked though their documents as well. “Zese are very convincing,” Lucas commented, amazed at just how real they looked.

Lydia smirked slightly. “That'd be the idea. As for your friend in Scotland, we haven't been able to make much headway on getting her out yet.”

Rat frowned, nodding quietly. She hadn't spoken to Aila in upwards of three weeks. She didn't know if the doctor was simply busy, or if she was purposely keeping their contact loose for fear of alerting DYAD, but either way, Rat was extremely concerned. At the rate they were going, it was looking more and more like they'd need to go to Canada without Aila.

“I hope she's doing OK,” Rat murmured to herself.

\--

Unfortunately, Aila was close to breaking point. Sylvester and her gang were harassing her at every chance they got, Morgan's entire existence was freaking her out, and Tracy seemed to turn up wherever she went. Aila hadn't been able to call Rat to keep in touch thanks to Sylvester stealing her phone cards out of spite, and the doctor hadn't earned enough funds to buy new ones yet.

The fact she couldn't prove Sylvester had stolen them made Aila angry, but she was convinced the other inmate was behind it. Nobody else had reason to do such a thing, and the arrogant smirk on Sylvester's face whenever Aila mentioned it only convinced her more.

The isolation of prison was completely wearing Aila out. The only people who were interested in spending time around Aila were just out to get her, thanks to Sylvester, and Aila didn't care much about making friends with anyone else. How could she, when any inmate or officer in here could be her monitor?

Tracy was the only person around who was polite to Aila, and this just frustrated Aila even more. She wanted desperately to believe it was because Tracy had good intentions, but it was impossible to see the good in anyone these days. She wished she could forget all things DYAD for just a day so she could relax and have someone like Tracy to talk to.

Aila found herself focusing on Saffi a lot, wanting to convince herself that _she_ was her monitor, rather than Tracy. The more she thought about it, though, the more torn she became. She'd heard stories of Tracy never giving anyone the time of day unless she had to, until Aila came along. That _had_ to be a bad sign.

Much to Aila's frustration, she found Tracy hanging around outside one morning as she stepped out for a run. Hardly anyone else was about, except for a few officers. Most other inmates were socialising in the canteen, or preparing for work.

Aila steeled herself up as she walked past Tracy, fists clenched irritably. “We've _got_ to stop running into each other out here,” she shot, an unfriendly tone in her voice. “Anyone would think you're following me.”

Tracy, who was leaning against the brick wall with a cigarette in her hand, looked up from a letter she was reading. She observed Aila in confusion for a moment. “Eh?” she asked.

Aila stared. It was almost as if Tracy had learned Aila's daily routine, and knew where to be in order to run into her. As aggravating as Aila found this, she still couldn't confront Tracy. There was always the off chance she was wrong.

“Nothing,” Aila snapped. She eyed the letter in Tracy's hand. “What are you reading?”

Tracy frowned at Aila's odd behaviour, and glanced down at the letter again. “From my niece. She's looking after my kid for me. Been badgering me with letters these last few weeks...wants me to call her urgently...”

“So why don't you?” Aila asked.

Tracy shrugged. “It's complicated.”

“If you _can_ call your family, then you should,” Aila told her bluntly, surprising Tracy a bit. “I'd love to call mine, but all my pissing phone cards keep getting swiped.”

“Sylvester's doing?” Tracy asked knowingly. “She proper seems to have a thing for you.”

“Yeah, well if I thought I could get away with it, I'd have a thing for her...” Aila muttered darkly. She couldn't help imagining the various weak points on the human body that she'd learned about during her years in A&E. The doctor froze then, horrified at herself for even thinking about such things, and immediately discarded the thoughts. “Forget I said that. She's a bitch, that's all. If I ignore her for long enough, she'll get bored and piss off,” Aila said with a shrug, unsure of why she was even still _talking_ to Tracy.

The doctor wanted to get her run over with before work, but yet here she was nattering to the inmate she suspected of being her monitor. Perhaps it _was_ simply because Tracy was the only inmate to be polite, even if she might be DYAD. If Aila was going to be spending the rest of her _life_ in prison, she'd need to make friends eventually, surely...

Tracy stared at Aila for a long moment, but decided not to comment. “Ya mentioned having a family?” she asked instead, drawing Aila out of her thoughts. Tracy looked curious as she took a long drag from her cigarette.

Aila was silent for several moments, unsure of how much she should really say. “Kinda...I don't have any biological family, but I have a few friends who fill in as sisters.”

Tracy nodded, looking back down at her letter with a subtle frown. “Never had any sisters, me. Grew up an only child. Only ever had a real family when I met my husband and his lot.”

Aila wasn't sure what to say to that, having very few experiences with dating. Most people to ever show an interest had soon been put off by Aila's recurring nightmares and sleepless nights, so no one ever stuck around long enough for her to meet their families.

Both women fell silent, retreating into their own thoughts. Aila stared at Tracy for several minutes, before simply turning on her heel and walking off. She figured that by now Tracy was aware that Aila had a habit of running before her daily shifts in the library.

When she made it out onto a track area, Aila broke into a fast sprint. Thoughts of Tracy and Sylvester circled around in her head, but the doctor did her best to ignore them, instead trying to channel her negative energy into running as hard and fast as she could. It wasn't much, but it _had_ to be better than losing it and lashing out at either of them.

\--

Leigh was fed up. She'd decided to write letters to Tracy, but didn't mention anything about clones in them. She figured that even if DYAD got hold of them, they'd have no way of knowing that Leigh was aware of the presence of others in prison. Instead, she explained that she'd spoken to Ray, and that she needed to speak with Tracy about important matters.

Her letters, however, seemed to have been ignored. Leigh hadn't heard a single word from Tracy since the night she inquired about having a double in prison. With no other leads to go on, the hairdresser was quickly running out of ways to continue the hunt for Amelia.

She also wondered about the clone child Tracy had given up. It had been stunning enough when Leigh learned she had a clone twin, never mind a clone _cousin_ as well. Leigh couldn't remember ever hearing the name 'Hailee' while looking into other clones, but she also remembered Rat saying there were hundreds of them all over the world.

If Hailee had been adopted out, it was possible that she wasn't even in Europe anymore. Leigh wished she was able to ask Rat to find her, even if just out of curiosity. She was even tempted to ask Rachel, but she was hesitant about telling the blonde about her discovery. Would Rachel even _care?_

Leigh sighed, refocusing her thoughts on the situation at hand. The week before, Leekie had personally called to ask how the search for Amelia was going, which had put Leigh into a long-lasting foul mood. Leekie seemed to think Leigh was purposely avoiding locating Amelia due to having Gabby. It was only _because_ of Gabby that Leigh had this new lead at all, though.

At the very least, the young girl seemed to be adjusting to life at school. More often than not, when Gabby got home in the evenings, she seemed to be in a reasonably good mood. Leigh hoped she was making friends at least, now she'd given up skipping classes.

Leigh had started working part time at a local salon in the meantime, in order to bring in extra money to help support herself and Gabby. She didn't want to rely _entirely_ on the DYAD money Shaun used to buy the food shopping whenever he was ordered to go do it (which was more often than not).

Leigh glanced over at Shaun from her position on the sofa. She still wasn't used to his presence and probably never would be, but at least he kept to himself most of the time. Leigh didn't know how Rachel coped with Daniel being all over her all day long. When not being ordered around, Shaun merely stood or sat off to the side and didn't say a word.

Usually, anyway.

“Why are you staring at me?”

Leigh blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. “I wasn't,” she said defensively.

“You were,” Shaun grunted.

Leigh scowled. “Yeah, well you bloody well stare at _me_ every hour of every day, so...”

“I'm being paid to. You're not,” the older man pointed out, and for a fraction of a second Leigh could have sworn she saw a very small smirk on his face. It was gone so quickly though that the hairdresser wondered if she'd imagined it.

Leigh was about to shoot a sarcastic remark right back at him, but a phone rang and distracted her completely. Leigh shot up, recognising the ringtone as Gabby's – the school girl never took her phone to school with her, and today she'd left it on Leigh's kitchen table.

Leigh rushed over to pick it up, leered at Shaun and debated ordering him out of the room, but then decided against it. Even if he wasn't around to listen to Leigh talking on the phone, he'd surely know the conversation was about something Leigh didn't want DYAD knowing about because of her determination to keep it private. That'd be enough reason for Shaun to tell DYAD about such calls, and the last thing Leigh wanted was for them to dig.

“Hello?” Leigh answered the call.

“Ashleigh,” Tracy's voice spoke.

Leigh's expression became blank, but intense. “Hello,” she said again. She turned her back on Shaun and stared at the kitchen wall instead, eager to pretend Shaun wasn't even there. “I take it you're not trying to get hold of Gabby,” she added quietly.

“You and I both know DYAD will be listening if I call you on _your_ phone,” Tracy murmured. “Gabs never did like taking her phone to school with her. One of the other kids nicked her old one, so she stopped doin' it.”

Leigh sighed a bit and tugged anxiously at her hair. “So you _do_ know about DYAD then,” she almost whispered. She was desperate for Shaun not to overhear. “So, you got answers for me, or what? Is it true? What I asked you about before, about other...people who look like _me_ on the wing?”

“Look,” Tracy told her. “I need to see you. We can't discuss this over the phone. I posted you another visiting order this morning. It should be with you in a few days. Only _don't_ bring Gabby with you next time. Don't tell her you're comin' back to see me at _all_. If she finds out, she'll only start askin' questions, and we _do not_ want her gettin' involved with DYAD's mess.”

Leigh nodded. “Yeah, that I agree with you on,” she admitted.

“I already filled out the time and date for you to visit; it'll be two weeks from tomorrow – so just fill in the rest, and I'll see you then,” Tracy said. “I've gotta go.”

“Fine,” Leigh sighed. “See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Both women hung up. Leigh continued gazing at the wall for a few minutes to let this information sink in. She'd have to make sure Gabby was kept busy while the visit went ahead, but she also knew she couldn't leave her alone. Two weeks from tomorrow...that was Saturday 2nd March, which meant no school, which meant Gabby would need a _serious_ distraction to stop her from asking Leigh questions about why she wouldn't be around that day.

An idea struck Leigh, though she didn't know if it was a good one or not.

“Shaun?” she asked, turning around to stare at him through the archway to the other room. “How good are you with kids?”

Shaun went from looking bored and unimpressed to surprised in an instant. “ _Why?_ ” he asked. He almost sounded nervous.

Leigh gave a crooked grin. “What're you doing in two weeks time?”

Shaun could only stare, not wanting to know where this was going.

\--

“You friggin' _what?_ You're leavin' me with the pisshead for the whole entire _day_?”

“He's not a bloody pisshead; how many times do I have to tell you?” Leigh snapped at Gabby. The day of the visit with Tracy arrived, and Leigh had left it until the last minute to tell Gabby that Shaun would be watching her. She thought telling Gabby earlier would only give the young girl time to ask questions and demand answers and wear Leigh down, so at least telling her on the day would mean Leigh could escape and get the entire experience over with as easily as possible.

Gabby folded her arms moodily. “He _looks_ like one.”

“Oi,” Leigh said firmly. “You call him that again, I'll have you doing the dishes every day for the next _month_. Don't think I won't.”

“You ain't my mother,” Gabby said matter-of-factly.

Leigh shook her head at her cousin. “ _Look_ , Gabby, I _have_ to go today. They're short staffed at work; they're struggling with the business – they called me last minute, and they're really desperate. Shaun's gonna-”

“I don't need no babysitter!” Gabby grumbled.

Leigh raised her eyebrows. “I was _going_ to say Shaun's going to take you out for the day, wherever you want. Shopping, for food, cinema...whatever. That way you won't be bored here all day.”

Gabby's expression lifted ever-so-slightly. “Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” Leigh grinned. “But you have to stop being mean to him, OK?”

Gabby just shrugged and turned her attention back to the TV for the time being, feeling too stubborn to admit she wanted to go out. Leigh watched for a second or two, before stepping out into the hallway where Shaun was waiting.

He looked severely annoyed, having clearly heard what Gabby said about him.

“She'll be good,” Leigh told him. “And I'm expecting _you_ to be as well. No talking about DYAD or some shit.”

“Why would I _do_ that?” Shaun spat. “My job is to monitor you, but that doesn't mean I live and breathe all things DYAD.”

Leigh rolled her eyes as she took her coat from the hanger and put it on. She and Shaun both knew all it would take was for Leigh to complain to Rachel if she was unhappy with Shaun for any reason. That was enough reason for Shaun to do as Leigh asked.

“And what, precisely, will you tell your cousin when you fail to return home this evening?” Shaun questioned. “The journey to Scotland shall be long. You will not be back here until very late, and I doubt Gabby will believe you are doing overtime at work until such an hour.”

Leigh paused as she zipped her coat up and threw a scarf around her neck. “Err...I dunno yet...I'll figure something out to tell her if she questions it...but yeah, just _don't_ tell her I'm going to see her mum. We're just trying to sort stuff out. Family stuff.”

Shaun said nothing, but merely nodded in agreement. He knew Leigh was going to the prison, but Leigh purposefully left out the real reason why, for obvious reasons. She glanced at Shaun again, picked up her car keys, said goodbye to Gabby, and then stepped back into the hall. She looked back at Shaun, and paused.

“Thanks,” she told him reluctantly.

Shaun remained silent, merely staring at her. Leigh turned and walked out the door without another word, inwardly knowing that Gabby would be fine with him for the day. As Leigh got in her car and looked at her phone for directions to the prison, she sighed quietly.

This was going to be a long day.

\--

The morning shift passed by slowly. Aila again caught herself zoning out several times, and she still felt unusually exhausted. She wondered if it would be possible to get some kind of sleep aid from the prison pharmacy.

Her thoughts briefly shifted to Saffi, and the offer she made Aila on her first night, but Aila hastily discarded these thoughts. It would be unwise on so many levels to accept medication from _any_ other inmate, never mind another inmate who was also a DYAD employee. At the very least she hadn’t been able to dream much lately, and no dreams meant no nightmares to cope with on top of everything else.

When the clock hit twelve, the doctor silently passed the library cart to the inmate who took over the afternoon shift.

Aila debated going back to her cell to rest a bit, but knew she should eat first. It wouldn’t be wise to skip lunch when her energy levels were already low. As usual, Sylvester and her gang were already there and laughing obnoxiously over something. Aila shot the blonde woman a sharp glare as she passed by them to get her tray.

“Oi oi Hailee, nice time putting books away?” Sylvester sneered when she noticed the clone. “Any chance ya found a phone card in there? Buncha silly sods been droppin’ ‘em all over the place lately!”

“Fuck you,” Aila snapped venomously. She'd had just about enough of putting up with Sylvester.

Sylvester merely cackled, her laugh echoed by the laughter of her friends. Aila forced herself to turn away, knowing it wasn’t worth it to start a fight. When she got her food and found a table far away from her ex gang members, she sighed and rubbed her head. How on earth was she going to keep sane if she would be made to deal with this every day for the rest of her life?

“Steady on, kid.”

Aila looked up irritably as Tracy appeared. Again. She took a free seat opposite the clone, quietly eating her own food. “Ya know she ain't gonna stop pickin' at ya so long as ya keep givin' her a reaction to it,” Tracy said after a moment.

Aila stared at Tracy blankly for a moment, before narrowing her eyes slightly. “What’s it matter to _you?_ ” she asked, perhaps a bit more harshly than she intended.

Tracy arched an eyebrow, and then shrugged. “Suppose it don’t matter to me. It’s entirely up to you if ya wanna keep fightin' with that pathetic bitch. She’s only got the balls to take on someone so long as they don’t fight back. The minute they do start fightin' back, she pisses off like the bloody twat she is.”

Aila remained silent, willing herself to eat to keep from snapping at Tracy. She still had her suspicions for why Tracy wanted to be friendly, and that kept her from wanting to bond with her...however much she needed a friend in this place.

“Anyway, I’ve got a visit this evening with my niece. Should be…interesting,” Tracy continued on when it became apparent that Aila wasn’t going to say anything.

“Good for you,” Aila muttered, her tone making her displeasure known.

Tracy arched an eyebrow, looking mildly unimpressed then. “The hell's been up with you lately?”

Aila twitched and finally focused her attention fully on Tracy with a sharp glare. “Look, I _know_ why you’re trying so fucking hard to be nice, OK? You’ve been sent to spy on me and report back to _them_ , right? Well I’m not bloody falling for it, so back the fuck off and tell Leekie to do the same!” she hissed. It was probably incredibly stupid to confront Tracy here in a crowded lunch room, but the doctor couldn’t help herself.

Tracy looked stunned, and Aila took that as confirmation that her suspicions were right. The doctor stood quickly and walked away from the table, discarding what was left of her lunch before sprinting up the stairs to the second floor.

“Hold the fucking phone,” Tracy muttered after she recovered. She dumped her tray as well and rushed upstairs, catching Aila just before she made it to her cell. “You _know_ about Leekie? About DYAD?”

Aila gave her an extremely unimpressed look. “Of _course_ I know about Leekie. Did he forget to mention that? He’s already well aware that I’m self-aware, and that I want nothing to do with him, his twisted company, or you, so piss off and leave me alone.”

Aila stormed into her cell and shut the door before Tracy could say another word.

Sitting down on her bed, the doctor released a slow, shuttering sigh and tried to calm herself. At least she’d figured out who her monitor was. It _had_ to be Tracy. How else would she know about DYAD and Leekie?

Aila rolled over to face the wall with a sigh, closing her eyes as she did. Perhaps she’d have Rat look into Tracy later on...if Aila’s file couldn’t confirm it, certainly Tracy’s would.

With that thought in mind, the doctor forced herself to think of anything besides DYAD, and soon found herself drifting off as her exhaustion again hit her. Perhaps it would be easier to keep calm and think clearly after a nap…

\--

Over in Switzerland, Rat and Danielle were making plans to go to Canada, now that their passports had been secured. It would be unwise to waste any more time. They needed to get to Beth and Katja, and then they could focus on freeing Aila.

“We are going to visit Aila before going over zere, oui?” Danielle asked, looking over a map.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Rat agreed. “I wanna make a pit stop in London too, to get my dogs back. I don’t wanna just leave them there when it might be months or years until we can come back to Europe.”

“OK,” Danielle agreed, knowing that Rat had a point there. Who knew how long they would be in Canada for? Or if they would be able to return to Europe at all with DYAD looking for them? It was best to finish up all business here, and then leave. “Per’aps Beth can ‘elp get Aila back?” the French clone offered then. She’d never met Beth, but she knew that the other clone was involved with law enforcement of some sort.

“Yeah, I’m hoping as much,” Rat said with a nod as she leaned back on the sofa. “I’m sure Scotland’s laws are different from Canada’s, but hopefully Beth can at least give us some ideas for how to help Aila.”

Danielle stood and stretched, before making her way over to the kitchen area to make tea and hot cocoa. The cold had relented a bit now that winter was coming to a close, but it was still fairly chilly out. As she waited for the kettle to boil, she looked out onto the street. It amazed her that even with the library above them, they still had windows just barely above street level to let air and light in.

It only took a moment of looking outside to spot a peculiar sight that made the French clone freeze in her tracks, even as the kettle started to whistle.

On the opposite side of the street near the trees stood two men. One of them was tall and held what looked like a photograph. It was the other man that made Danielle’s heart skip a beat in alarm though.

“Ce qui la baise?!” Danielle gasped, taking a step back from the window.

“What?! What’s wrong?” Rat asked, alarmed. She jumped up and hurried over to the French clone, who merely pointed out the window. Rat followed her gaze and froze as well, her eyes wide with surprise and alarm.

Standing across the street from the library was Danielle’s former boyfriend and monitor, Kyle.


	14. Chapter 13

When Leigh walked into the small visiting room, Tracy was already there. The older woman didn’t seem to notice Leigh at first. She looked like she was thinking hard about something.

“Aunt Tracy?” Leigh asked, standing beside the table.

Tracy looked up at her, startled. “Ashleigh! Sorry, was proper havin’ a wander then,” she said, standing to hug the orange-haired clone.

“Everything OK?” Leigh asked in spite of herself. She was eager to get answers, but at the same time, it was a bit odd to see Tracy spacing out before a visit.

“Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry,” Tracy assured her as she sat back down. “Just…ah, never mind. We ain't here to talk about that. You’re wantin’ to know about DYAD, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Leigh nodded, sitting down as well. She'd thought about what she was going to say during the drive up, and decided to get right to the heart of the matter. “I spoke to Ray. He told me about Hailee, and how you gave her up because of another surrogate. This surrogate...was her name Amelia?”

Tracy looked surprised and perhaps a bit pained to hear about Hailee. She nodded anyway with a soft sigh. “Aye, it was Amelia.”

Leigh’s throat tightened. So it was true; she finally had a solid lead on Amelia. “I need to know as much as you can tell me about Amelia. Do you know where she is now?”

Tracy arched an eyebrow with a subtle frown. “Why’re you askin'? How’d you even find out about all of this?”

Leigh stared at her, biting her lip for a minute before she spoke. “I’ve known about...about my origins for a while now. Look, Tracy, I _need_ to find Amelia, and so does DYAD-”

“DYAD?” Tracy repeated. “ _DYAD_ sent you? Leekie?”

“Yes – no – sort of,” Leigh struggled. “Not really. They want to find Amelia, but I have _my_ reasons for helping them. I wouldn't be doing all of this if I didn't believe it was the right thing to do, whether DYAD's involved or not. Whatever you tell me, I'll make sure none of it comes back to bite you. You've gotta trust me on that, and I've gotta talk to Amelia. I know she vanished along with her clone child, and that’s the reason Leekie took my sister away from my family. I want to understand why everything happened the way it did.”

Tracy stared at her, stunned. “Wait, _that’s_ what happened to your mum’s other daughter? Shit…I knew Janet lost a kid, but at the time she made it sound like there was a complication and the kid died or somethin'...she _never_ told me DYAD took her other kid away...” she breathed.

“They did,” Leigh nodded. “My sister was raised by the people who were supposed to get Amelia’s kid. Please, tell me what Amelia found out, and why she ran away with her daughter.”

Tracy was quiet for a moment, before speaking quietly. “Amelia said she overheard something…she said that the couple that asked her to carry their baby were really scientists, and they were talking about putting the baby into a social experiment, or somethin’. Amelia got spooked and wanted to hide the child away…wanted to give her a chance at a normal life. I helped her.”

“Go on,” Leigh encouraged her. She was painfully aware of the limited window of time they had to talk. She needed to get as much out of this visit as possible.

Tracy nodded and continued her story. “The way Amelia was talking, it sounded like the child would've been put through all sorts of unethical treatment. I helped her cover her tracks and vanish herself, so that DYAD couldn’t find her or take the kids back. It weren’t until she actually gave birth that we found out she wasn’t just carrying _one_ clone, but twins. Amelia…she were a proper sweet lady…she got attached to the babies, and wanted to protect ‘em.”

Leigh was stunned to hear that Amelia’s child wasn’t just the clone who may have become Helena, but also another clone too. “You helped her hide them? So wait…did you two hide Hailee and the twins together? Through the adoption system?” she asked, trying to fit all of this new information together.

“Nah,” Tracy said with a shake of her head. “I was still pregnant when all this went down…Amelia had her kids in March, and Hailee weren’t born until May. Amelia decided it’d be safer to split her twins up anyway…she gave one to the adoption system in England, and she gave the other to a church.”

Leigh felt quite sick then as she recalled Helena yelling about God…could it be true then? Could Helena have been the baby that was raised by the church, before being kidnapped by the Proletheans? “A-and all this made you want to give up your own daughter as well?”

Tracy hesitated, then sighed and nodded. Leigh thought she looked quite sad then. “When Hailee was born, I took a few days to really think about what kind of future I wanted for her, and decided it would be better for her to grow up away from DYAD as well. It didn’t seem like Leekie ever found Amelia’s daughters once they got into the adoption pool, so I figured it was my best shot at keeping Hailee safe from them. Hardest decision I ever made though, believe you me. Took ages to convince the nurses to keep her name...always wanted to try and find ‘er again some day, y’know? Just to see if I made the right choice…but I dunno if that’ll happen now I’m banged up in here for life.”

Leigh frowned, feeling both sad and sickened by this whole mess. She couldn’t imagine three children being given up just like that, even if it was to keep them all safe from DYAD. “Do you know where Amelia is now?” the hairdresser asked, getting the subject back on track. “Is there any way I could contact her?”

Tracy held in a sigh. She leaned back in her chair and watched Leigh for a moment. “All I know is she hid away in Ireland. Limerick, or so I heard, but I don't know if that decision was final. I...don't know if you'd be able to contact her. Everyone who helped to hide her, the twins, and Hailee...everyone who helped...even _I_ don't know where they are now. We lost contact after Amelia hid away, and I went back to my life with Ray. You're having a laugh if you think I can help you track down _anyone_.”

“You must have _names_ of the people who helped Amelia disappear,” Leigh said. “Tell me and I can find them myself.”

“Why do you need those names when you already have Amelia's?” Tracy demanded.

Leigh stared coldly at her. “Because I _don't_ have Amelia's name,” she said. “Not her full name anyway, and I'm guessing she probably changed it in any case. I need to know who else helped her to hide away; people who might know what name she goes by now. If I can find them, they can help me track her.”

Tracy shook her head very slightly, and she looked a bit lost. Leigh stared hard for another few seconds.

“ _What?_ ” she asked. “Why can't you just tell me? What don't you want me to know, because I know _something_ isn't adding up here.”

Tracy still said nothing, and instead took to staring blankly at the table surface below her. Leigh could see she was inwardly struggling with something.

A thought crossed Leigh's mind. “Why are you in here, Tracy?” she asked. Tracy looked up at her abruptly. “You murdered someone. That has something to do with all of this...doesn't it?”

Tracy remained still and quiet for a short time, just watching as Leigh stared expectantly at her. Then, she released a heavy, reluctant sigh. “As I said, I went back to my life with Ray once Amelia left. Everything was normal. DYAD accepted that I changed my mind about raising a clone, and then some years later, I had Jake and Gabby...but about a year and half after Gabby was born, I realised I'd been tracked. It all led back to one of Amelia's daughters.”

Leigh nodded and urged her to continue.

“The man I stabbed and killed was a religious extremist,” Tracy explained. “His lot in particular called themselves Proletheans.”

“Oh Jesus Christ,” Leigh breathed, her eyes wide. There was no doubt in her mind that one of Amelia's daughters was in fact Helena.

“They traced everything back to me because someone in our network betrayed us,” Tracy carried on, ignoring Leigh's interruption. “These Proletheans, they knew about the clones because of this double-crosser. They saw them as abominations. They saw _you_ as an abomination, Ashleigh. They knew of your existence, and they knew where to find you.”

Leigh froze for a moment as the events all lined up together in her head, each one suddenly connected and making perfect, yet impossible sense. “You killed that guy to protect _me,_ ” she stated numbly.

“I _had_ to,” Tracy said. “They would've taken out your mum and dad n'all if they got in the way, and they threatened _my_ kids too, because I wouldn't give you up.”

“Is that why I wasn't allowed to know anything?” Leigh asked. “My mum and dad; they went to see Ray when you were arrested, and I had to babysit Gabby and Jake, and nobody would tell me anything – that means my parents knew about all this too? And they kept it all from me?”

“They knew an organisation opposing clones intended to wipe you all out, yes, but they didn't know details. It was safer that way. I killed that man before he could pass on confirmation of your whereabouts to the rest of the Proletheans – that's _why_ you were safe from then on. He intended to kill you himself, Ashleigh, and I couldn't let that happen.”

“And DYAD?” Leigh asked. “Did they know?”

“No,” Tracy shook her head. “They knew nothing about any of it. It was safer for me to keep quiet about it all...safer for you...safer for Hailee...”

Leigh slumped back and sat in silence for a bit. So, Tracy had let everyone believe she killed out of an act of madness for all these years. This was the reason her family fell apart...

“That's why I won't give you any names,” Tracy spoke again. “One person in the network already betrayed us. For all I know, any of the others could've as well. If that's the case, you do _not_ wanna go there, Ashleigh. And if it's _not_ the case, sending you to them might put _them_ in danger. You're a target however you look at it.”

“And yet you're trusting me to keep Gabby safe,” Leigh said coldly.

“All the more reason for you to back the hell away from all of this!” Tracy raised her voice now. “You start diggin', you're only gonna put _her_ in danger. I don't know who we can trust and who we can't; this whole thing is a mess and it ain't getting any easier to handle.”

“Who was it?” Leigh asked. “The person in the network who betrayed you? You must know who it was. Are they still out there?”

“Hell if I know,” Tracy spat. “She were an insider at DYAD for a while. Helped with the origins of the experiment, apparently, but then she helped us hide Amelia and the clone children, and turned her back on DYAD. Maybe she was workin' with the Proletheans all along; I don't know...Chen, I think her name was. Maggie Chen.”

Leigh's mouth fell open in utter shock. “ _Maggie Chen?_ ” she repeated. “ _Maggie Chen?_ Are you _sure?_ Are you _serious?_ ”

“ _Yes_ I’m serious,” Tracy muttered. “I’m sure it was Chen somethin’, in any case. She were all right at first, but she got proper psycho after turning on us…might've always been that way and were just hidin' it; hard to tell…one thing's for sure though; them religious nutters will kill any clone they find, no questions asked. Ya get mixed up with them, then you’re just _askin’_ for trouble. I _had_ to off one of ‘em, otherwise your lot _never_ would've stood a chance, believe you me.”

Leigh swallowed hard, struggling to take all of this in. “Maggie Chen is dead,” she whispered.

Tracy stared at her with wide eyes. “You friggin' _what?_ How the fuck do you _know_ that?”

“Because I’ve spoken with the clone who killed her,” Leigh said, rubbing her eyes as her mind worked overtime. “Maggie tried to go after one of the others, and lost. It happened several months back.”

A short pause followed.

“How bloody deep into this _are_ you, Ashleigh?” Tracy almost whispered.

“Deeper than I ever thought I’d be,” Leigh admitted. “Long story short; over the past year, I’ve met several other clones, and I've already had a few run-ins with the Proletheans. I know full well that they’re fucking psychotic and they’ve got a taste for clone blood. I had to watch them kill two others right in front of me, and injure many more. I was trying to stop them and protect the other clones somehow…but I had to come back here and lie low again due to… _unforeseen circumstances_ , let’s say.”

“Bloody _hell_ …” Tracy breathed, looking like she was at a loss for words. “How you’re not already dead is beyond me.”

“Yeah,” Leigh said quietly, briefly thinking back to Aryanna’s death. Leigh knew that it _would_ have been her bleeding to death in the street if the Italian clone hadn’t intervened and taken the bullet for her. She shook her head and refocused. “I haven’t seen any of the other clones _or_ any of the Proletheans in months. I still need to find Amelia though.”

“You _need_ to back off and keep my daughter safe,” Tracy growled firmly.

Somehow Leigh knew she’d hit a wall. It was obvious that Tracy wouldn’t help her any further in the search, but at least Leigh had more information to work with now. Glancing at the clock, the hairdresser saw that they only had another fifteen minutes until the visit would end.

“Fine,” Leigh told her, willing to back off for the time being. She needed to think and process everything she’d been told anyway, and knew she could revisit this topic later if need be.

She suddenly remembered what else she needed to know. “There are other clones here on the wing, right? At least two of them? Please tell me what their names are. I think at least one of them is my friend.”

Tracy stared at her for several moments, before sighing. “Aye. There are two of them. One’s called Morgan, and the other’s called Aila.”

Leigh felt her throat tighten as a surge of emotion pulsed through her. “Shit…Aila doesn’t belong in prison…” she whispered. She didn’t know who Morgan was, but she was happy that it seemed like Rat and Katja had escaped whatever had happened.

“She the friend you mentioned?” Tracy asked, watching as Leigh nodded. “So that’s how she knows about DYAD…” the older woman muttered, half to herself.

Leigh blinked slowly. “You’ve spoken to Aila?”

“Aye…I was curious ‘bout her, since she’s a Scot n’all…thought there were some small chance she might've been Hailee. She flipped out and told me to piss off though, and accused me of spyin' on ‘er for Leekie,” Tracy explained. “Keeps bouncing between bein’ distant and bein’ snappish whenever I come near her.”

Leigh frowned. That didn’t sound like Aila at all, but then again, the very last time Leigh saw Aila was directly after she was tortured by Daniel. Had something changed in the doctor between then and now?

“She probably thinks you’re her new monitor,” the hairdresser offered with a sigh. It was impossible for a self-aware clone to not be paranoid about DYAD, after all. “Don’t take it to heart. She’s really lovely and supportive towards people she trusts. She’s my best friend, if I’m honest. God, what the hell happened for her to end up here?”

“Dunno really,” Tracy shrugged. “Just keeps sayin’ that the courts think she killed someone. I don’t know any of the details.”

“Fuck…” Leigh muttered. Her mind immediately flashed back to Aila’s old monitor, Josh, and how the police thought Aila killed him. Leigh still wondered if DYAD was involved with this, and if Rachel knew about it or not. “I need to talk to her somehow. I can vouch for you.”

Tracy arched an eyebrow. “If she sends ya a visiting order, it’ll probably be flagged by DYAD.”

“Yeah, they can’t find out that I know about this,” Leigh agreed, lowering her voice. “Is there any kind of…I dunno, secret way for inmates to communicate with people on the outside?”

Tracy blinked, looking mildly unimpressed. “Do you think this is some kind of TV drama? _'Bad Girls_ ' or some shit?”

Leigh gave her a half-hearted glare. “Of course not! I’m bloody serious!” she snapped.

Tracy sighed, shaking her head. “I’ll see if I can figure anything out and call you on Gabby’s cell during the day if I do.”

“Thank you,” Leigh told her sincerely. She still had a heavy feeling in her stomach, and was eager to learn what went wrong with the other clones traveling to Canada. She’d need to think long and hard about everything she learned today. How was it possible that everything became increasingly more complex?

\--

“Why are you 'ere, Kyle?” Danielle demanded threateningly.

Rat had agreed to let Kyle into the entrance hall of the building so he and Danielle wouldn't have to talk out on the street, but the hacker refused to let the other man inside the main library. Rat herself stood in the next room to give Danielle and Kyle some space.

Or so they thought. Of course Rat couldn't help standing close to the door to listen in. She couldn't help herself.

Kyle smiled and shook his head in disbelief as he gazed at Danielle, his eyes glistening with tears. “I can't believe you're really still alive,” he murmured. “I figured out you were, but to see you here in person...”

“But _'ow_ did you find out, Kyle?” Danielle snapped. She clearly was not as happy to see Kyle as Kyle was to see her.

Kyle didn't respond for a moment, but Rat had stopped paying attention anyway. She was more curious to the fact that Kyle spoke with an American accent.

Wasn't Kyle _French?_

“I think you know how already, Danielle,” Kyle spoke again. “My people. They helped me...you left behind too many tracks...amateur, really...”

“ _Don't_ belittle me, Kyle,” Danielle hissed at him.

Kyle just shook his head again, looking a bit sad suddenly. He stepped forward and gestured as if wanting to hug Danielle. “I'm happy you're safe-”

“ _DON'T_ ,” Danielle yelled now. She shoved him away and he stumbled a bit. “Your people found me? Zey knew of all zis all along? Zat is why you were sent to spy on me; because you all knew of _girl clones_ too? You and your lot were working wiz _DYAD-_ ”

“ _No,_ Danielle; no,” Kyle insisted frantically. “You already know why I was sent on a mission...I should've told you it was to get inside info from DYAD, but I...thought you didn't need that. I _didn't_ know you were a clone as well...I didn't know about female clones...”

A very sick feeling settled in Rat's stomach. She fell against the wall and allowed herself to lean on it for support as Kyle's words sunk in.

“So _why?_ ” Danielle lashed out. “You _really_ expect me to believe you didn't know you were monitoring a clone? Everyzing else I knew 'as been a lie; why should I believe zat _you_ are any different?!”

“Will you keep your voice _down,_ ” Kyle hissed, painfully aware of Rat's presence in the building. He didn't know she was just around the corner listening in, but he didn't want Danielle's yelling to attract her attention.

“ _Why?_ ” Danielle asked again. “You scared, Kyle? Scared of me spilling your secret? Zat is why you came to find me, oui?”

Kyle was silent, confirming Danielle's suspicions. The skater huffed dramatically and shook her head, disgusted. “So you really do not care. Stop pretending zat you care about _me,_ Kyle, because we both know it's not true.”

“I _do_ care,” Kyle insisted. He slowly approached Danielle again, looking and sounding desperate now. “But Danielle, you know too much and _I_ don't know enough! We _have_ to discuss everything that happened...and this...this Rat person; the other female clones...I need to know how we all fit together, because it can't just be _coincidence..._ ”

Kyle trailed off and his eyes bulged wide to see Rat standing in the doorway of the next room. She'd stepped out of her hiding place, deciding she wasn't willing to go without answers for a moment longer.

She shifted her intense, accusing stare to Danielle. “Danielle...what the hell is going on?” she demanded.

Danielle froze, taken aback to see Rat so close. Had the Swiss clone heard any of what was said? By her accusing stare, Danielle knew that she had. “R-Ratty, I…um…” she said, looking between Kyle and Rat.

Kyle stared at the Swiss clone, his expression becoming blank. “Nothing you need to know about.”

“Like _hell_ it’s nothing I need to know about,” Rat snapped with a glare. “You’re with DYAD, which makes you a threat to us. I want to know why the hell you came back, and what Danielle knows that you don’t seem to want getting out. Tell me what you meant by _‘I didn’t know you were a clone as well’_.”

Kyle scowled. “So you were listening in the whole time!?” he shot accusingly.

Rat stared at him darkly, before looking at Danielle. The skater looked oddly nervous and conflicted suddenly as she looked between the two. “Danielle?” Rat asked again.

“I-I can explain, Ratty…” the French clone said, shaking her head as she ran a hand through her hair.

“You can _not_ tell her-” Kyle growled, but Danielle silenced him with a sharp glare.

“She _needs_ to know, Kyle,” Danielle said firmly. “About you and your brozers, and about your mission. If you want information, you need to _give_ information. She needs to know zat zere are _ozers_...”

“Other _what?_ ” Rat asked with wide eyes, not liking where this was going.

“We are not zee only clones,” Danielle told her before Kyle could speak again. “Zere are male clones as well, and Kyle is one of zem.”


	15. Chapter 14

C-Wing was alive with chatter. Inmates and officers hovered around the canteen as dinner was served, but Tracy sat alone on her usual, isolated table. Once or twice, she glanced around for a sign of Aila, but the doctor was nowhere to be seen. It was likely Aila skipped dinner in favour of hiding in her cell. Tracy had noticed Aila doing so once or twice recently, since their confrontation about DYAD.

It wasn't like Tracy could force Aila to eat, or be social. As far as Aila was concerned, Tracy shouldn't even _care_.

But Aila's absence was welcome on this particular evening. Since Leigh's last visit, Tracy had been straining to think of some way to get her in touch with Aila. There was really only one person in here who had the resources to help, but Tracy wasn't sure she wanted to go there. This inmate wasn't to be messed with lightly.

Morgan.

Tracy had been watching her. Subtly, she liked to think...at the very least, Morgan didn't appear to catch on to Tracy's sudden interest in her.

But now, as Morgan crossed the canteen and sat down in front of Tracy, that assumption was proven wrong. Tracy gave the dangerous clone a look of surprise, but Morgan's face remained blank.

“Why have you been watching me, dearie?” she asked firmly. It seemed Morgan was far more skilled at being subtle than Tracy was. Tracy hadn't caught on to the fact that Morgan had been watching _her_ too.

Tracy remained silent for a minute, and carried on eating her food. She didn't care if it was rude to ignore Morgan. She would answer when she was ready.

If this bothered Morgan at all, she didn't show it. She simply sat perfectly still, and rested her unblinking gaze on Tracy while she waited for an answer.

Tracy set down her knife and fork when she finished, and finally looked up at Morgan. “I wanna make a deal,” she stated.

Morgan raised her eyebrows slightly. “A _deal?_ That's a first from someone like you. Keep yourself to yourself a bit, don't you?”

“Are you interested or not?” Tracy demanded.

“Well that depends on what's in it for me, naturally,” Morgan told her. “I find myself wondering what on earth you have that I could possibly want.”

Tracy smirked a bit. “Oh, it's good,” she taunted. “I promise you that much.”

Morgan stared. “Well get on with it then.”

Tracy glanced around once more to make sure Aila still wasn't around. “Aila,” she stated. “Your look-alike. You _must_ be curious about her. I can tell you why she looks like you. What your story is.”

There was a pause, before Morgan leaned back slightly and gave a subtle frown. “And how on earth would _you_ know anything about _that?_ ” she asked curiously.

“I have my sources,” Tracy told her evenly. “Interested or not? With how much time you spend in the library, it’s obvious that you like learning new facts.”

Morgan tilted her head to the side slightly, apparently thinking about it. Tracy looked away after a moment and again made sure that Aila wasn’t around. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was a bit unnerved by Morgan's blank, unblinking eyes.

After a moment, Morgan spoke again. “I do hope you are aware that it would be _incredibly_ unwise to lie to me, dearie.”

Tracy arched an eyebrow. “I’m not lying. There’s a reason I keep hanging around Aila. It’s the same reason I hung around _you_ when you first showed up here. Ever wondered why that was? You can’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious to know why there’s a Scot who shares your face, when you’re not even from this country.”

Morgan stared at her for another moment. “What is it you want from me in exchange for this information?” she inquired, resting her elbow on the table to absently twirl a piece of her hair around her fingers.

“I need to get in touch with someone on the outside without the screws knowin’,” Tracy said lowly, making sure that no officers were around to overhear her. “Think you can get hold of a working cell phone?”

“I suppose that can be arranged,” Morgan replied. “It will likely take a few days, however.”

“Fine,” Tracy grunted. She stood up and gathered her tray. “After I get the phone, we’ll talk.”

“Very well,” Morgan agreed. A rather creepy smile appeared on her face suddenly. “I do hope what you have to say is worth it, for your sake.”

Tracy blinked slowly, frowning subtly. “Guess we’ll find out, as long as I get that phone.”

Tracy left to dump her tray. Something about dealing with Morgan was extremely off-putting, and Tracy hadn’t missed the unspoken threat in her words. Tracy only hoped that her idea to give Aila a phone worked out well enough. If it didn’t, she wasn’t sure what she could do to help Leigh and Aila get back in touch.

\--

Over in Switzerland, Rat sat on a sofa beside Danielle. Kyle sat in a chair opposite them. Rat refused to bring Kyle further into Lydia’s home until she knew more about what was going on, so rather than staying at the library, the group relocated to Kyle’s hotel room.

Lucas had been asked to join them as well, much to the male clone’s displeasure. The man who had been with Kyle earlier on in the day was present as well. He leaned against the wall off to the side of the room, observing everyone silently.

“I agreed to talk to _you_ , not whoever this is,” Kyle said, looking at Lucas with a glare.

“Tough,” Rat snapped. “He’s with us, so whatever you say will get relayed to him anyways. We’ve gotta put up with your creepy-ass friend lurking here as well, so you can bloody well deal with it. Now get on with talking. How the hell are there male clones as well?”

“Probably the same way there are female clones,” Kyle muttered. “We don’t know for sure where we came from, or who our original was. My brothers and I were all raised self-aware in various factions of the military.”

“Military?” Rat asked, blinking. “Every last one of you is self-aware?”

“As far as I know,” Kyle said with a nonchalant shrug. “We’re called Project Castor. That’s all we were told about our unique status as clones.”

Rat frowned subtly. She’d need to remember that name and do her own research on them later. She never once came across any hint of male clones in all of her research into DYAD. “Is DYAD aware that male clones exist?”

“I don’t think so,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “We didn’t know that female clones existed either until I saw all of you back in September.”

“You already told your people about zem zen?” Lucas asked. If these Castor people were high ranking military personnel, they would certainly be capable of coming after the female clones if they saw fit to. As if it wasn’t hard enough trying to protect the women from DYAD and the Proletheans…

Kyle stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. “I am required to update my brothers and superiors about everything of interest that I learn about DYAD, and no offence, but the existence of a whole new set of clones is by _far_ the most interesting thing I’ve come across in three years of being undercover.”

Danielle glanced at Rat then. “Back when I first found out about zis, ‘e told me zat ‘e was looking for a cure to some kind of clone illness.”

“The same illness that’s been killing the female clones?” Rat asked, immediately thinking of her birth sisters. She still hoped Katja was receiving care from Beth’s mysterious scientist friend. Rat wanted to get to Canada as soon as possible to be with her, and hoped that _this_ wouldn’t set their plans back too far.

Kyle stared. “Same illness?” he repeated. It was clear he didn't know what Rat was talking about.

“Yeah, we get sick too,” Rat told him reluctantly. “And there's no known cure. DYAD are desperate to find one too.”

Kyle ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily to himself. “So DYAD doesn't hold answers, then,” he mumbled regretfully. “All of this was a complete waste of time...”

“And _you_ knew all along?” Rat shot, her attention back on Danielle. The French clone flinched back at Rat's harsh tone. “ _Why_ didn't you think to _tell_ me about something as important as the existence of male clones?!”

Lucas shuffled nervously at Rat's temper showing, but Danielle spoke before he could suggest that she calm down.

“I _didn't_ know _everyzing!_ ” Danielle whined. “I swear! I knew only zat Kyle was sent to find a cure; I did not know 'e was looking for it from DYAD; I 'ad never even 'eard of DYAD until I met you, Rat!”

“But you knew he was a clone,” Rat stated hotly.

“ _Yes,_ ” Danielle gasped. “But not all along. I...we met through our skating career. During training, my coach introduced me to Kyle some years back, and said zat 'e would be my partner. Said we 'ad to train togezer.”

“It's true,” Kyle nodded. “I originally applied to work at DYAD in France as a volunteer for various social experiments. Eventually, they recruited me and others to take on the role of monitor for a worldwide study. I already knew French. My team in the military had a base there for years for various other missions, and we had lessons to learn the language. DYAD paid for me to have skating lessons...I didn't know what it was _for;_ to monitor a _clone._ I simply...held on to the hope that doing as DYAD asked would get me results.”

“That you'd gain their trust, and they'd invite you deeper into DYAD?” Rat guessed.

“Exactly,” Kyle confirmed. “And the deeper into DYAD one ventures, the more chance one has of obtaining a cure...”

Rat stared. Something felt wrong about all of this. “Except DYAD _don't_ have a cure,” she snapped. “And why would Castor go after DYAD for a cure if they didn't know about the existence of female clones? Why would Castor think DYAD could help to cure clones at _all_ if that was the case?”

“I don't _know,_ ” Kyle insisted. “I only followed the instructions I was given. My role was to complete the mission, not question it.”

“And _you?_ ” Rat spoke to Danielle again. “You still haven't explained how you knew about Castor.”

Danielle opened her mouth to speak, but Kyle cut across her. “She walked in on a meeting between myself and three of my brothers,” he explained. “They required an update on my progress, or lack of it...they wanted to know what DYAD had me doing. Danielle wasn't supposed to find out, but she...”

“Heard too much,” Danielle said bitterly.

“I _had_ to resume my role as monitor, or DYAD would've kicked me out,” Kyle continued. “So I had to tell Danielle the truth about what she heard...what she saw...I just...left out the part about DYAD. She was telling the truth when she said she didn't know of them until she met you.”

“Oui...I said I would request a new skating partner if 'e did not explain all of zis crazy stuff...and zen I agreed to keep quiet about zee clone zing, if...if...”

Everyone watched Danielle expectantly, but Danielle just trailed off and stared guiltily into space.

“If I'd help her feed her drug habit,” Kyle finished helpfully.

Silence followed. Then Danielle stood and excused herself from the room, too annoyed and ashamed to even be thinking about drugs on top of everything else.

Rat exhaled and shook her head in disbelief. “Lucas, I need a word,” she muttered. She stood too and went to a separate room, and Lucas followed. Kyle just sat numbly and waited for everyone to return.

“Vat is it?” Lucas asked Rat.

Rat turned to face him, still shaking her head. “Something _reeks_ about all of this,” she insisted.

“How so?”

Rat shrugged. “He said Castor didn't know that female clones existed. I'm sorry, but I _don't_ get why they'd seek out DYAD for a cure, if that was the case.”

“DYAD is all zings science, Regina,” Lucas offered. “Very, very advanced science. Perhaps Castor simply zought DYAD's research could help zem.”

“I'm still not buying it,” Rat argued. “Either Kyle's lying to us, or someone at Castor is lying to _him._ Someone higher up...this _sucks._ It just makes me think the two are connected somehow.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Castor and zee girl clones?”

“Well why _not?_ ” Rat snapped. “Male clones, female clones; both sick with some fatal, unknown disease – it makes _sense_ if both batches originate from the same place! From the same _creators._ Someone, somewhere knows something about this; I just _know_ it. Whether that someone is from Castor, or DYAD, or somewhere else, I don't _know._ ” She sighed again, and paced the room impatiently. “It's just another friggin' mystery we don't have time to solve!”

Lucas gave a regretful nod. “Ja. And perhaps ignoring it could prove fatal...”

“Exactly! Is _everyone_ I know a God damn _liar?_ Anyone else wanna admit to keeping secrets while they're at it?!” Rat complained.

Lucas became very rigid then, but merely put his hand on the hacker’s shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort. “Let us just take zis von step at a time, ja?”

Rat sighed and stood still for a moment as she ran a head through her hair. “Yeah…I’ll try to find out more about all of this when we get back to Lydia’s place.” She tried to calm down and think logically. “We’ll have to get all our stuff together and leave, tonight if possible. I don’t fancy staying here when they know where we are.”

“Do you zink zese two men vill be a threat to us?” Lucas questioned.

“Do you really wanna take that chance?” Rat retorted, trying to come up with a plan on the spot. She never imagined that she’d ever have to try to avoid military personnel.

“Kyle said he told zee military people about you all months ago,” Lucas reasoned calmly. “If zey vanted to hurt you, vouldn’t zey have done so by now?”

Rat frowned as she considered the fair point. Running from any perceived threat was always her first instinct, but Lucas was right. If these Castor people had wanted to find them, they would have been able to long ago. After all, Rat and Aila were still for _months_ while the doctor was recovering from her injuries.

“Perhaps for now vee should stay here and learn about zings viz zese people…at least, until zey gives us a reason not to. It may be beneficial to everyone involved to co-operate until vee know more, ja?” Lucas continued after a moment.

“Tit-for-tat,” Rat muttered, considering the option.

“Ja,” Lucas nodded.

Rat sighed, shaking her head. “The longer we’re stuck here pissing about with these two, the longer it’ll be until we can go to Canada and find Katja,” she muttered.

Lucas frowned, but nodded. He was worried about his other daughter too, but it was clear that ignoring this discovery could be the worst mistake they could make for the moment.

Rat paused when her cell phone rang. She looked at the number, recognising the prison. “It’s Aila,” she told Lucas, before putting the phone to her ear. “Aila?”

“Hey, Rat,” Aila’s voice came through the device. She sounded tired and fed up. “How’re you guys holding up?”

“Let me get back to you on that,” Rat muttered, rubbing her head. “We’ve had a bit of an explosion of a revelation over here. It’s not safe to discuss it over the phone, though. We’ll fill you in when we can get back to Scotland to visit.”

“Great, more drama,” Aila sighed. She could tell from Rat’s voice that it was something big, but she understood the need to be careful. “I wish I could help you guys somehow.”

“Yeah,” Rat agreed quietly, finding that she missed Aila quite a lot suddenly.

“Um…is there any chance I can have you look into something for me, when you get a moment? I think I know who my monitor is now,” Aila said after a minute.

“Oh?” Rat asked, knowing that it wouldn’t be too much trouble to do as the doctor asked. She knew how much this mystery had been driving Aila crazy. “Yeah go on, what’s their name?”

“Tracy Wilks,” Aila told her. “She’s a lifer here, and quite a bit older than I am, but she _knows_ about DYAD and Leekie. She specifically said his name, and was surprised that I already knew.”

“Right, I’ll have a look later on tonight. Can you call me back tomorrow at some point?” Rat asked, pacing around the room again.

“Should be able to, yeah,” Aila said. “Thanks Rat. Any idea when you guys might be coming for a visit?”

“No idea,” Rat sighed. “We _were_ gonna be going back to Scotland later this week, but with all this new shit, I have no idea when we’ll be able to get out of here. We’ll definitely let you know though, so make sure to keep in touch as much as possible.”

“Yeah, will do,” Aila agreed. “Sorry I haven’t called more often…this place is a bloody mad house, and lately I’ve just been staying in my cell as much as possible.”

“Are _you_ holding up all right, Aila?” Rat asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Aila didn’t respond for a moment, and Rat wondered if the doctor hadn’t heard her, but then Aila spoke quietly. “Yeah…I’m fine. I just need to know for sure about Tracy.”

Rat frowned. She had a feeling that Aila wasn’t fine at all, but could she really say anything that would help her? “Yeah, I’ll look into it ASAP,” she promised instead.

“Thanks Rat. Gotta for now...see you soon, I hope.”

“Yeah...I hope so too,” Rat answered.

The call ended.

\--

Explaining the revelation about Amelia and Helena to Rachel and Leekie was, as Leigh imagined it would be, difficult. She knew she couldn't keep such information from them (after all, the whole point of discovering all of this was to alert DYAD to it), and thanks to the chip inside of her, it wasn't as though Leigh could lie about where she had been to recover such information.

Did DYAD know Tracy was behind bars? _Rachel_ did, for Leigh had explained before about taking Gabby to visit her mother, but whether the rest of DYAD were aware of such things was beyond Leigh's knowledge. It was only a matter of time before they found out either way, Leigh supposed. She didn't want to tell them Tracy had given her this information, because that would mean telling Leekie that Tracy had gone against him all those years ago, just as Amelia did. The last thing Leigh wanted was for Leekie to confront Tracy personally.

Leigh knew there was no getting out of it, though. She would leave out Tracy's involvement for now, but she knew Leekie was going to dig, and when he did, he'd know Leigh had been speaking to her aunt about all of this. All Leigh could do was warn Tracy that Leekie would be on to her before he found out.

It was for this reason that Leigh paced anxiously that evening, hoping for a call. Tracy needed to call her sooner rather than later, but it didn't seem likely to happen.

Rachel watched Leigh's reflection. She was standing still in front of her floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of wine in her hand, just taking in everything Leigh had told her. Leigh herself had decided to go straight to Rachel's place after returning from the prison and reporting to Leekie. It was incredibly late; in fact, it was almost daylight now, and Leigh still didn't know what she was going to say to Gabby about why she'd been gone so long. Somehow, staying at Rachel's felt like the easier option this time.

“I _should_ get back to Gabby though really,” Leigh muttered to herself as she paced. “Little madam's gonna be asking endless questions...she was already being gobby with me when I called to check on her earlier...”

“Shaun is capable of caring for her, I assure you,” Rachel insisted. Leigh gave a disbelieving snort and flopped down on the sofa. Rachel looked away from the window to watch her sister. “You do not believe it?”

“You _do_ believe it?” Leigh questioned. “How would you know if he's any good with kids?”

“Because he _has_ a child of his own,” Rachel said. “A young son.”

Leigh froze to stare up at Rachel. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Rachel nodded.

Leigh just rolled her eyes and leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. Shaun having a child didn't change the fact that Gabby was a difficult teenager to deal with, or the fact that Shaun was always miserable to be around. Leigh didn't want to leave them alone together for _too_ long...

But then, Leigh had been difficult to be around too...hadn't she? For both Shaun _and_ Gabby?

Leigh shook her head to snap herself out of it. She _wasn't_ about to go feeling bad for Shaun. She'd already defended him to Gabby, which was remarkable in itself.

“I need to sleep,” Leigh grumbled miserably. “Can I crash here?”

Rachel raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. She approached the sofa and sat down next to Leigh. “I would hardly expect you to travel home at this late hour...or early, depending on how you look at it. You have had a long day.”

“Yeah...I still can't get my head around it,” Leigh said, holding back a yawn.

“Neither can I,” Rachel agreed. She downed the rest of her wine, and then placed the empty glass on the coffee table. “This...Helena...had she been here from the beginning, then...”

“Yeah...” Leigh breathed.

“If Helena is just one of Amelia's daughters, who is the other?” Rachel questioned.

Leigh shrugged. “Hell knows. There's _got_ to be some record of her though, right? If she was put into the adoption system, there has to be _some_ trail.”

“I do not see how that is possible,” Rachel said. “Every subject is monitored, and every monitor provides us with data. We know of all their origins...we know exactly where each subject came from...”

Leigh stared, baffled. “What, so this other clone; Helena's twin; she's just rogue? Lost outside the system?” What kind of people did Tracy _know_ for them to be able to hide the lost clone so deeply? Was Hailee that deeply hidden too?

Rachel stared numbly at her empty wine glass, as if debating filling it up again. “All the more reason to locate Amelia,” she said. “We need answers.”

Leigh just watched Rachel for a minute or two before speaking. “I think the rogue clone's the least of our concerns, Rachel. She's not important.”

“I'm well aware of that,” Rachel nodded. “I know we must focus our efforts on reclaiming Helena and putting a stop to her murderous intentions. Forgive me for merely being curious about the existence of her twin.”

“Yeah…I don’t blame you really, but this shit is already complex enough without trying to find out about her too,” Leigh sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I just want to stop Helena before she kills anyone else.”

“Indeed,” Rachel murmured, standing. “Would you like some wine to calm yourself before you sleep?”

Leigh wasn’t sure if that was the best idea, but she found herself nodding anyway. Since her meeting with Tracy, Leigh’s mind had been working overtime trying to think through everything. She needed to relax for a little while and then revisit everything with a clear head.

When Rachel returned with two glasses of wine, she sat down beside her twin again and handed her one glass quietly. She observed as Leigh took a long sip. “I do not like seeing you so stressed,” Rachel murmured.

Leigh shook her head with a soft sigh. It was impossible not to be stressed, with everything going on. “Let’s just leave it for now and try to relax before bed,” she said.

“Very well,” Rachel agreed, sipping at her own wine again. “It has been too long since we have had wine together like this.”

“Yeah,” Leigh said with a tired chuckle. “Remember that time we stole my mum’s wine and sat on the bouncy castle?”

“Indeed,” Rachel said with reluctant amusement. “ _Honestly_ , I still cannot believe you insisted upon having an inflatable castle at the age of sixteen…such an overgrown child.”

Leigh grinned a bit. “So you said, even though I got you on it in the end.”

“I blame the wine,” Rachel said matter-of-factly.

The blonde watched as Leigh giggled a bit at the memories. After a few moments, the hairdresser sighed and looked solemn. “Those days were so carefree and simple,” she said quietly.

Rachel frowned and took a long sip of her wine. The twins lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching out the window as the sky turned pale orange, illuminating the buildings of the city bit by bit.

Leigh suddenly yawned, stretching a bit. She downed the rest of her wine and stood, looking down at Rachel. As curious as she was about Rachel's possible involvement with Aila's imprisonment, Leigh couldn’t deny feeling safe with her sister in that moment.

“I’m gonna go crash, if that’s OK,” Leigh told her.

Rachel set her wine glass down as well and nodded. “Your room has been left undisturbed,” she told her. “I believe I shall inform Aldous that I will be taking the day off, so I will see you later.”

Leigh smirked a bit. “Playing hooky just because I’m here?”

Rachel blinked, arching an eyebrow. “What does ‘playing hooky’ mean?”

Leigh just chuckled and shook her head. “See you in a bit, Rachel. Thanks again for letting me crash here.”

Rachel merely nodded, watching as her twin vanished up the stairs. The blonde turned her attention back to the sunrise as she finished off her second glass of wine. After some time, she stood as well and made her way to her room, allowing the building to fall into a tranquil silence.


	16. Chapter 15

When Aila made her way downstairs for breakfast, she was greeted by the cheery chatter that usually occurred around meal times. It still boggled her mind how these people could act like this was some kind of social gathering rather than a prison. Aila guessed that she might feel different if she made some friends, but for the time being, she still found it odd.

Aila rubbed her eyes and sighed as she sat down at her usual table. It was slowly starting to become easier to sleep at night, but she still woke up frequently. She hated how tired and sluggish it made her feel every day, but she wasn’t sure there was much she could do about it.

Aila didn’t see Tracy, Morgan, or Sylvester around for the moment, and ate quickly before any of them appeared and tried to talk to her. She clutched her phone card close, inwardly daring anyone to take it off her.

The doctor wondered if Rat was awake yet, or if she should try calling after her shift in the library. Aila thought she had enough funds to make two calls if need be, so it shouldn’t be an issue either way.

When more inmates started coming down for breakfast, Aila stood and made her way towards the phones. She was concerned about whatever happened to Rat and Danielle, and Aila hoped that the other two clones could visit soon to get her up to speed on what was going on.

Aila leaned against the wall as she dialled Rat's number, feeling a bit dizzy for some reason. At first, it seemed like Rat wasn’t awake, but just as Aila decided to hang up and try again later, the hacker answered.

“Hey Aila; morning,” Rat said, sounding half asleep still.

“Hey, Rat,” Aila answered as she looked around the phone area. She hoped that inmates wouldn’t start lining up to use the phones until after the majority of them had eaten breakfast. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s fine,” Rat assured her. “I looked into Tracy last night…” she said, and Aila didn’t miss the uncertain tone in her voice.

“Go on,” the doctor urged her, her heartbeat quickening a bit in anticipation.

“You’re uh…you might wanna brace yourself for this one,” Rat muttered. “Tracy’s not your monitor, as far as I can tell, but she does have a connection to you.”

“Oh?” Aila murmured, stunned. She felt a bit bad for lashing out at Tracy now, but if she wasn’t Aila's monitor, why did she know about DYAD and Leekie?

“Yeah…just…look, don’t freak out but…Aila, Tracy’s your _mother_.”

Aila froze, at a complete loss for words. All coherent thought was knocked from her mind as she tried to comprehend what Rat had said. That couldn’t possibly be real. Aila never _had_ a mother growing up.

“Aila?” Rat asked urgently, apparently concerned about the doctor’s silence.

“You friggin' _WHAT?!_ ” Aila croaked loudly after finding her voice again, making the nearby guards jump a bit and glare at her. “What the fuck do you mean she’s my mum?! I don’t HAVE a mum!” she stated, staring blankly at the wall in front of her with wide eyes.

“Hailee was your birth name, right?” Rat raised her voice slightly to make sure she was heard in case Aila interrupted in her panicked state. “It's all here Aila; it all adds up...she was implanted with a clone, but then decided against having a child...put you up for adoption...”

“Does it say _why?_ ” Aila squeaked then.

“It doesn't say why she changed her mind about having a kid, no,” Rat explained frantically. “But DYAD knew you were put into the adoption system, and had you monitored up until Leigh found you and this whole mess started. If you want answers about why Tracy changed her mind, you'd better ask _her_.”

Aila had stopped listening to Rat half way through her explanation, for Tracy was passing by the phone area to make a call of her own. Aila stared at her with wide eyes as she held the phone glued to her ear, not sure how to feel or what to think, or how to even react. Tracy glanced around and caught Aila staring, but merely offered a confused frown in response.

“Aila?” Rat asked anxiously.

“I...I'll talk to you later,” Aila said, and she hung up instantly.

“Aila? Aila? Hello?” Rat responded. It was too late though, and the hacker sighed and hung up too. “Damn...she didn't even say what she's gonna do next; whether she'll confront this Tracy woman or not.”

She looked around at Lucas, who'd been sitting beside her while she answered the call.

“And a part of you does not vant her to confront Tracy,” Lucas stated.

Rat stared. “No, that's not it at all. Aila deserves answers; of course she does. It's just...”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “You are not sure how vell she vill take it.”

“Can you blame me for thinking that way after what we found in Tracy's file?” Rat snapped defensively. “About Janet and Spencer? About _Leigh?_ ”

Lucas gave a grave sigh. Rat had discovered the connection between Tracy and Leigh's family, and the fact it made Leigh and Aila cousins. The fact that Tracy had gone on to have two more children, though, and the fact that Leigh's death was still raw meant Rat wasn't sure about revealing this information to Aila at all.

Not for the time being, in any case. Whether or not Tracy revealed this information to Aila herself when Aila confronted her...well, that was another issue entirely. Rat just wasn't sure that Aila learning such information would be helpful while she was in prison. If anything, Rat wondered if it would do more harm than good.

“I just wish she didn't hang up like that; that's all,” Rat muttered pitifully. “I'd feel better if I knew what she was gonna do. How she's gonna handle this. If she's in the right frame of mind to handle it at _all._ ”

“Regina...Aila is strong, and you have to have faith in zat,” Lucas explained. “Zere is nozing more you can do vile she is behind bars. She must handle zis however she deems fit, and you cannot control how much Tracy vill reveal to her. Vee need to be focusing on zee here and now, anyvay...bigger issues...”

A stony look flashed in Rat's eyes then, and she nodded in agreement. “Yeah...we need to know where we stand with Kyle.”

Not much had been said about the revelation of Castor since the previous night, and Rat and Lucas had left Danielle to catch up with Kyle in private. The two were still in the next room talking things over, but Rat was still concerned. Whatever their next plan of action was, Rat wanted to be sure Kyle could be trusted...and Danielle, for that matter.

“Come on,” Rat said to Lucas. She stood up and approached the door to the next room. “Let's focus on the here and now, as you said.”

Rat invited herself in to see Danielle and Kyle, and Lucas followed. Danielle and Kyle stopped mid-conversation and watched as Rat approached.

“Done talking?” Rat asked icily, though it was obvious she didn't care if they were done or not.

Danielle squirmed a bit. She didn't like Rat being so off with her, even if she should have come clean about this information months ago.

Kyle sat up straight and stretched a bit. “Not like we have much choice,” he spoke bitterly.

“I wanna make some sort of deal,” Rat said, ignoring Kyle's comment. “You keep Castor off our backs, and you keep quiet about our whereabouts. We're desperate for a cure too, Kyle. When Aila's out of prison, and when we've found Katja and Beth, there's no reason we can't help you.”

“Regina...” Lucas muttered uncertainly, but Rat remained determined. Lucas knew Rat was still convinced the male and female clones were connected somehow, and despite saying earlier that she didn't have time to delve into the history, she was bound to do as much research about all of this as possible.

But to offer to _help_ Kyle without knowing of Castor's true intentions? What if Castor was dangerous? Even Rat knew herself that trying to strike a deal like this was unwise, but it was the best she could do for the moment. Whether or not Rat would stick to her end of this deal in the end remained to be seen...if Castor was sick, Rat didn't want to see Kyle suffer, but this was war now, and it was unclear if he could be trusted. Rat would put her sisters first, always.

“Well?” she asked.

Kyle stared at her for several moments, before speaking. “I can ask my higher ups to leave you all alone, but I can’t promise that they’ll listen. So far it seems like they don’t really have much interest in you anyway, to be honest. I _will_ pass on the information that the females are getting sick too, and that DYAD don’t appear to have a cure, though. They need to know that much. How would you be planning to help us?”

Rat shrugged. “I can do high-tech computer work, as well as research,” she told him. She was sure that the military had access to hackers already, but it was all she really had to offer.

“Rat ‘acks,” Danielle offered. “She knows many ways of finding out zings zat ozers cannot.”

Kyle arched an eyebrow. “But not about the illness,” he stated.

Rat bristled slightly, but attempted to keep herself in check. “DYAD is working towards finding a cure every day, and I’ve been keeping up with their progress…or lack thereof. But no, I’m not a doctor and can’t do much else to find a cure.”

“Aila is a doctor…maybe when we get ‘er back, she can ‘elp in zat regard?” Danielle said, trying to mediate the conversation. She hoped that Rat and Kyle could come to some sort of mutual compromise.

“We’ll see if she’d be willing to after we get her back,” Rat said. She didn’t want to just volunteer Aila and put her under even more pressure, especially from the military. That was the last thing Aila needed on top of everything else.

“We have several hackers and doctors working for us already,” Kyle’s companion spoke for the first time. The man was still leaning against the wall off to the side of the room. Rat had almost forgotten about his presence due to how still and silent he always seemed to be.

The hacker scowled at him. “Well I’m _sorry,_ but those are the skills we have to offer currently,” she snapped, before looking back at Kyle. “Who the hell _is_ this guy anyway? You haven’t explained him at all.”

Kyle glanced back at the man, who merely shrugged and nodded. Kyle glanced back at the clones then. “His name is Ross. He’s a former member of the C.I.A. who’s currently helping the male clones in their various missions by sharing advice and various tracking strategies. He helped me pick up Danielle’s trail and led us here.”

“And is also Kyle’s boyfriend,” Danielle muttered, crossing her arms with a huff. “About zee _only_ zing zat I was not lied to about right off zee bat...our relationship was fake...all for zee cameras...”

“ _That_ is beside the point,” Kyle snapped, glaring a bit at Danielle.

Rat blinked a bit in surprise, but then shook her head and sighed. “Right, whatever. Anyway, do we have a deal or not?” she demanded, looking between Kyle and Ross.

Kyle was silent for a moment, before nodding once. “We will keep your location hidden for the moment, and see how valuable your computer skills are when the time comes. I demand to know any and all new updates about DYAD’s search for a cure, though.”

“Fine,” Rat agreed. “They haven’t made much progress in months, but they’re currently trying various ‘solutions’ on a clone called Jennifer in London. I’ve been following her case closely over the past several months.”

Kyle stared at Rat for a moment. “How did you come to know about the illness, if you were not raised self-aware?” he asked.

“I’ve seen many clones get sick first-hand,” Rat told him, her face void of emotion. “My twin sister had it, and died at the DYAD facility in London after three years. That’s how I became aware of DYAD’s existence, and how I know they don’t have a cure. They couldn’t help her, and they still can’t help anyone who has it.”

“I see…” Kyle muttered. “I’m sorry.”

Rat shrugged and looked away, before sitting down beside Danielle on the sofa. “Also, I want to know if you guys become aware of any advances in the way of a cure as well. Katja is also sick right now,” she reluctantly explained. “She doesn’t have much time left.”

Lucas frowned, moving to stand behind the sofa. He hoped something good would come out of this arrangement, for Katja’s sake. He still didn’t trust these men, but for now, he had to remember that he and Rat had agreed to follow a tit-for-tat strategy. As long as co-operation was given, co-operation would be returned.

Kyle nodded. “I suppose we can do that,” he told Rat. “We know the pain of losing our own to this sickness. The faster we can find a cure, the better it’ll be for everyone.”

“Yeah,” Rat agreed quietly.

\--

When Leigh returned home, it was thankfully to an empty house. Gabby was at school for the day, and Shaun was nowhere around. Leigh wondered if he was home with his son due to not knowing that the hairdresser was back, but she was happy for the quiet, whatever the reason.

After leaving Rachel’s place, Leigh spent the morning making various notes about everything she’d found out in a simple leather-bound journal, to ensure that no detail was forgotten. It was far easier to look at everything as a whole when it was displayed in front of her rather than simply thinking about it. Leigh didn’t know how she was going to locate Amelia now, but at least some sort of progress had been made.

It wasn’t long before Gabby’s phone rang. Leigh blinked and moved to answer it, wondering if Tracy had decided to tell her anything else. “Hello?” she asked.

“Ashleigh?” Tracy’s voice came through the device.

“Yeah, it’s me. What’s up?” Leigh asked, sitting on the sofa again to flip through the pages of the journal.

“Right, I don’t have long, so I might need to call you back again later. Write down this phone number, and I’ll let you know when it’s safe to call it,” Tracy said, before listing off a string of numbers.

Leigh frowned in confusion, but wrote the numbers down anyway. “Right, got it.”

“That number goes to a phone that I’ve gotten hold of in here. I’ll be givin’ it to Aila later on, when I can catch ‘er alone,” Tracy explained quickly and quietly.

Leigh's eyebrows shot up. “How the hell did you manage _that?_ ”

“Don't ask no questions,” Tracy ordered. Back on C-Wing, Tracy watched Morgan from her place by the phones. The surgeon stood on the other side of the canteen, watching Tracy intently as she spoke. “Just be glad I've done what you asked. When this is done with, just concentrate on looking after Gabby... _please._ ”

There was a firm finality in Tracy's tone. Thoughts of Amelia had once again crossed Leigh's mind, but asking Tracy to help locate her would be a waste of breath. She'd simply have to find another way to track Amelia, starting by looking into Ireland.

“You know I'll look after her,” Leigh promised. She glanced around at the sound of the door opening. “I've gotta go.”

“Yeah, just listen out for my call,” Tracy spoke.

Both women hung up just as Shaun entered the house. He was looking sullen as ever, and quite irritated to see that Leigh was back.

Leigh eyed him for a moment as she snapped shut her journal and hid it away with Gabby's phone. “Keep forgetting you have a key to the house,” she grumbled at Shaun.

“Hello to you too,” Shaun responded. He shifted further into the living room and invited himself to sit down on Leigh's armchair. “Doctor Leekie has updated me on the hunt for the missing surrogate.”

Leigh snorted a bit and rolled her eyes. “Has he?”

“He wishes to know exactly how you acquired such information.”

“What, and he thinks he can get _you_ to make me talk?” Leigh guessed, completely unimpressed. “Drop the act; he _knows_ where I've been, so he _knows_ Tracy Wilks told me about all of this.”

Shaun observed her curiously. “You misunderstand me. The question on his mind is how _Tracy_ came to know all of this. It suggests she has some level of involvement.”

“And I'm not telling Leekie shit about it,” Leigh insisted. “The whole point of this was to find out if Helena's the missing clone so DYAD can stop her killing people. Now we know for sure that she _is_ , so-”

“But we _don't_ know for sure, do we?” Shaun interrupted. He sounded a bit annoyed now. “The more information Tracy gives; for instance, should she explain her involvement in all of this, the more chance Leekie has of obtaining confirmation of its validity. Right now, Tracy's story could be completely fabricated. Evidence is needed to back it up, which is why Leekie will surely go to _her_ for answers, should you refuse to co-operate.”

Leigh bit her tongue painfully as Shaun spoke, hating that he was right. Truthfully, such thoughts had crossed Leigh's mind as well; that Leekie would eventually want to speak to Tracy, but Leigh had been hoping she could somehow talk Leekie out of it and persuade him to focus solely on capturing Helena.

Then again, Helena wasn't the only lost clone anymore, was she? _Leigh_ might not have the energy to track down Helena's twin, but Leekie certainly would. He wouldn't want _any_ clone outside of his control, surely...and that meant finding Amelia...which meant turning to Tracy.

“ _Please_ , Ashleigh,” Shaun said in exasperation. “You are fighting a lost cause by keeping up this stubborn front. You have a child to consider. Fighting DYAD is _not_ the answer anymore.”

Leigh's head snapped up, and she whipped around to fix Shaun with a startled stare. “Leekie wouldn't harm a kid,” she stated boldly. “He wouldn't harm Gabby.”

“I'm not saying that he _would,_ ” Shaun backtracked. “But you know full well that he _would_ cause harm to you, as he has done already.”

“Yeah,” Leigh murmured, absently rubbing the scar on the back of her neck.

“And Gabby does not deserve that. She needs you.”

Leigh blinked as she watched Shaun. His face remained blank and stern as he stared right back.

“Why'd you even care?” Leigh questioned. Her tone was curious and genuine rather than harsh and accusing.

Shaun hesitated for a moment. “She's a good kid,” he offered.

Leigh just nodded. “Yeah...err...” she shrugged and awkwardly looked away from Shaun. “Thanks for watching her yesterday.”

Shaun nodded once and remained silent.

The room lapsed into an awkward silence, which was only broken by the sound of a door opening and closing some time later. Gabby walked in, pausing when she saw Leigh.

Leigh glanced up at her and smiled. “Hey. How was school?”

“All right I suppose,” Gabby said, setting her bags down. “How come ya never came back yesterday?”

“Missed me?” Leigh teased.

Gabby crossed her arms and huffed a bit. “As if!” she shot.

Leigh chuckled a bit. “I’m sorry,” she said, coming up with a story on the spot. “I uh...had to drive up north to sort out some business for the salon, since…erm, apparently I’m the only one who bothers to learn how to get things sorted. By the time I got it done, it was dead late, and I didn’t fancy driving back that distance in the dark, so I uh...stopped off at a cheap motel for the night…”

Gabby stared at her with wide eyes, looking rather baffled by the explanation, and Leigh wasn’t sure if she bought it or not. The hairdresser spoke again after a moment. “How was _your_ day yesterday? Did you guys do anything fun?”

Gabby frowned subtly, but nodded anyway. “Yeah…went to the movies, and then went out to lunch. There was a fair-style thing goin’ on in town, so we went and walked around there for a while. They were sellin' all kind of candies and stuff; it was really fun. Came back here later on, but ya weren’t back yet so we hung out and had dinner, and then we figured you probably weren’t gonna be back until late, so we crashed at his place for the night.”

“Sounds like fun,” Leigh said with a wide smile, pleased that Gabby had fun at least.

“Yeah, it was,” Gabby agreed, flopping down in a chair. She stared at Leigh for a moment, before narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. “You weren’t off seein’ your parents, _right?_ ” she demanded icily.

Leigh blinked. So much for being convincing. “No, I wasn’t. My parents aren’t even in the _country_ anymore, like I keep telling you.” Gabby still looked unconvinced, and Leigh sighed. “I promise you, if they were here, I’d take you to see them. I’d love to hear what my dad’s got to say for himself too, but that’s just not possible right now.”

Gabby sighed, grumbling a bit to herself. She stood and went upstairs to her room without a word.

Shaun glanced at Leigh, looking unimpressed. “Smooth.”

“Piss off,” Leigh muttered as she ran a hand through her hair. “Go make a start on dinner.”

Shaun grunted, but did as he was told. When Leigh was sure he was out of eyeshot, she took the journal out again and brought it to her room to hide it. The hairdresser sat on the end of her bed quietly, flipping through the pages again.

She hoped that she didn’t forget any details, but she was still unsure of what the next step should be. Ireland was a really big place, and Leigh didn’t even have a photograph of Amelia to go off of.

Leigh suddenly froze as her eyes landed on a name. _Maggie Chen_. Maggie Chen helped hide Amelia. If that was true, then maybe Leigh _did_ have a next step. It was a long shot, but it was the best idea she currently had.

“ _Lucas..._ ”


	17. Chapter 16

“It's in perfect working order, you know,” a firm voice spoke behind Tracy.

Tracy flinched as she recognised the voice as Morgan's. The clone had entered Tracy's cell without invitation, where Tracy crouched in front of the bed with a mobile phone on the mattress. Since Morgan smuggled the device in, Tracy had been hiding it in various places in her cell. She couldn't help switching the hiding place every so often out of fear the officers might somehow come across it, and now, she was debating slicing a hole in the mattress and putting the phone inside.

Tracy bit back a sigh and glanced up at Morgan, who leaned against the door with her arms crossed. “I don't trust that it's _not_ in working order,” she informed Morgan.

“Well you have not yet used it,” Morgan stated.

Tracy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This meant Morgan had obviously been keeping a close eye on her ever since she handed over the phone.

“Is there a problem dearie?” Morgan asked.

“No,” Tracy said. “Look, the phone isn't for me, all right? But you don't need to know details. All due respect, but it's none of your business what I want the phone for.”

She wasn't about to explain she was waiting for the right time to give it to Aila, or even explain to Aila _why_ she had the phone. Getting Aila to even accept the phone would be a challenge when Aila didn't trust her. There was a high chance she would think Tracy was tricking her somehow, or setting her up to contact DYAD directly for some reason.

“Trust me dearie, I couldn't care less why you want the phone,” Morgan explained calmly.

A tense pase followed. For now, Tracy slid the phone underneath her pillow and stood up straight to face Morgan. She knew Morgan was probably eager to learn the truth about her origins, and Aila's, and the fact Tracy hadn't done anything with the phone yet probably suggested she wasn't happy with it for some reason.

“You'll get your info,” Tracy told her then. The _last_ thing she needed was for Morgan to suspect she was about to back out, and start making threats. “But now's hardly the time, is it, with a dozen screws hanging around outside; plus it's nearly time for work. Besides, I've gotta make use of the phone and then find a way to get rid of it-”

“No,” Morgan silenced her. Tracy stared. Morgan stepped away from the door and stood up straight. “The deal was I get you the phone, which I have done. I never consented to waiting around until you've made use of it.”

“ _Fine,_ ” Tracy snapped. She pushed past Morgan, glanced around outside, and then closed the door. “Come and find me after work. We'll talk then.”

“I look forward to it,” Morgan replied.

Tracy held her breath as she forced open the door again to allow Morgan to leave. Dealing with Morgan would have to wait. For now, she had to focus on hiding the phone in a suitable place, and getting Aila to listen to her.

When Morgan finally left, Tracy took the phone out from under the pillow and looked around the cell. Having it in her possession was slightly nerve-wracking, when random cell checks could occur at any time. She needed to get Aila alone somehow and pass it on before that happened.

Tracy knelt down by the bed and felt around for any signs of damage to the mattress. After a moment, she was pleased to come across a small hole. She ripped it apart to make a big enough space for the phone. She shoved the phone inside before covering the hole with her sheets and blanket.

Satisfied that the phone would be safe for the moment, Tracy left her cell and made her way to the library. Her job was in the prison’s computer lab, which was located in a room within the library. This would make things much easier in terms of being able to find Aila after work, but how would she make the clone listen to her? So far every plan that came to mind could be reasoned out as a ploy from DYAD.

The morning shift passed by quickly. Tracy opted to leave a few minutes early in order to avoid Morgan, and passed through the rows of books until she found Aila staring absently at a book. Tracy thought Aila didn’t look well, but she couldn’t worry about that for the moment.

“Oi, Aila? I want a word,” Tracy announced.

Aila glanced up, apparently not realising Tracy was there. She stared at Tracy with wide eyes for a moment, before speaking. “Um…about what?” she asked warily.

Tracy shook her head, looking around to make sure Morgan hadn’t arrived yet. “Not here. Can you come up to my cell for a minute before lunch? It’s dead important.”

Aila blinked slowly, considering it. Now that Rat confirmed that Tracy was not Aila’s monitor, the doctor was more inclined to trust her, but she still didn’t know what to think or feel about this inmate being her birth mother. Did Tracy _know?_ Would she even _care?_

Tracy frowned subtly at Aila's silence and slightly dazed expression. “Oi, you feelin' OK, kid?” she asked.

“Aye, I’m fine,” Aila muttered, snapping out of it. “I suppose we can talk…my shift’s over anyway, so lead on,” she said, shoving the book cart off to the side.

Tracy nodded and turned to exit the library. She paused when she noticed Morgan and Saffi standing off to the side. Morgan stared at Tracy blankly, looking rather unimpressed and displeased. Tracy shook her head and exited the library, hoping that Morgan wouldn’t approach her again until after Aila was gone.

Aila glanced up at Tracy after they made it out onto the main wing. “Troubles with Morgan?” she asked, having seen the silent exchange between the two.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tracy muttered. When they made it up to her cell, Tracy closed the door behind Aila and made her way over to the bed, happy to find that the phone was still there. She whipped it out and held it close to her chest. “Right, I got somethin’ to give ya, but you can’t let them screws see it.” She offered Aila the phone.

Aila’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What the fuck? How’d you even _get_ that in here?!” she asked, looking at Tracy with wide eyes.

“Don’t go askin’ questions. Just take it and hide it. There’s someone on the outside that’s wantin’ to get in touch with ya without the screws _or_ DYAD overhearin’. I promise it’ll make sense when ya talk to ‘er.”

Aila stared at Tracy uncertainly. Who would want to go to these lengths to get in touch with her? So far Rat had been content to keep in touch via the public prison phone. She recalled the hacker saying that something big had happened recently, though…was it no longer safe to use the prison phone? Was DYAD monitoring their calls now?

“Who wants to get in touch?” Aila asked, even as she reached out and took the phone anyway. If it was Rat, wouldn’t Tracy _say_ that in order to convince Aila that this was legitimate?

Tracy hesitated, and then shook her head. “It’s better if you hear it from her,” she decided on. “Even if I tell you, you probably won’t believe it since you think I’m a DYAD spy. Your friend will be able to tell you otherwise…then we can talk more.”

Aila frowned. She had a feeling that this phone didn’t come from Rat. If it did, there wouldn’t be a need for such secrecy since Rat already _did_ confirm as such. Aila wanted to say that, and ask about her birth, but the words got lodged in her throat.

Instead she nodded numbly, and shoved the phone down her shirt to keep it well out of sight until she could figure out where to hide it in her cell. She didn’t know of anyone else on the outside who could arrange to do this, but there was nothing she could do until that person called her.

Tracy just watched as Aila left the cell. She figured she ought to call Leigh to confirm Aila had the phone and arrange a time for the call to take place, so she swiped up a phone card, and stepped out onto the wing.

Morgan faced her outside the door. Tracy struggled not to jump at the sudden sight of her, but managed to remain calm. Just as Morgan opened her mouth to talk, Tracy cut across her.

“Important phone call,” she stated, holding the card up. “ _Two_ minutes, and then I'll be with you.”

Tracy hurried away, leaving Morgan to shoot deadly glares after her. Tracy glanced back at Morgan as she went. Her mind raced to think of ways to avoid the dangerous clone as she picked up the phone and entered Gabby's number. Morgan wouldn't believe her about the clones anyway, would she? Would she see it as a lie, and see fit to punish Tracy for wasting her time?

“Hello?” Leigh's voice answered.

Tracy snapped herself out of her thoughts. “Ashleigh, it's Tracy. Aila has the phone.”

“She does?” Leigh responded. “Great. So when shall I call?”

“Not until tonight after lockup,” Tracy instructed. “God forbid anyone hears it going off while everyone's still out of their cells. Let's say eleven o'clock. The screws never check in on us then, unless there's an emergency or some shit.”

“Right,” Leigh said. She wrote down the time in her journal before snapping it shut. “Cheers Tracy.”

“How's Gabby?” Tracy asked out of the blue.

Leigh blinked. “Yeah, she's doing well. She just got in from school about half an hour ago. I'd better be quick actually, or she might catch me on her phone.”

“She settling in well now then?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Leigh said with a shrug. “She's enjoying school more than I thought she would. Keeps talking about this friend she made there called Ian.”

“I'm glad,” Tracy said with a genuine smile. “She deserves somethin' positive. Can I talk to 'er?” she asked, once again glancing around the prison. Morgan was still watching her carefully, her arms crossed as she leaned against the prison wall. Tracy didn't know how many more minutes she had left on the phone card, but she might as well put off talking to Morgan for as long as possible. She hadn't spoken to Gabby since their last visit together anyway, and she missed her daughter greatly.

“Uh...yeah, hang on,” Leigh told her. She pulled the phone from her ear and wandered over to the stairs. “Gabby! Your mum's on the phone!”

“OK!” Gabby called from the landing. She appeared a moment later, and hurried down the stairs to take the phone from Leigh. “Hi Mum,” she spoke cheerily. “Yeah, I'm OK. School? Huh? Ashleigh said I'm _enjoyin'_ it? She's a liar.” Gabby shot Leigh a tormenting glance and a grin, and Leigh just shook her head. “It's still full of snooty posh kids, and I still hate the uniform...but nah, it's OK. I like doin' History and ICT, and I've made a few friends, so-”

Leigh tuned out Gabby's voice and carefully sat herself down on the sofa. She opened up the leather journal again to flick through the pages.

Lucas...if she was going to contact him, she'd probably have to discuss it with Leekie first. Leigh didn't even know where Lucas _was_ at the moment. The last time she saw him, he'd been helping Aila escape the DYAD facility, when Leigh had gone in disguised as Rachel. Had Lucas even managed to get Aila to Rat before she was put in prison? Was Lucas still with Rat at _all?_

Suddenly, contacting Lucas felt dangerous. Leekie still wanted Rat and Aila back under his heel, and if he knew Leigh was contacting Lucas, surely that'd be a way for Leekie to locate the missing clones. Would Rachel be able to help Leigh find out where Lucas was? It was possible she could convince Rachel to keep all of this from Leekie...wasn't it?

Maybe she'd just have to be extra nice to Rachel...but it still felt incredibly risky. Rachel was unpredictable.

Leigh shook her head and looked around when Gabby stood before her. She was holding the phone, indicating she'd finished talking to Tracy.

Leigh stared at her. “What're you gawping at?”

Gabby blinked and sat down. “Did I give you permission to go answerin' my phone behind my back?” she demanded.

Leigh's eyebrows shot up and she let out a sarcastic laugh. “I beg your pardon, madam! Who do you think you're talking to?”

“How would you like it if I went and answered _your_ phone?” Gabby argued. “It ain't nice havin' your privacy invaded!”

Leigh rolled her eyes. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Leigh answered. “I'm sorry, all right? It was ringing, and I recognised the number from the prison.”

Gabby grumbled and folded her arms. She slouched back on the sofa, eyeing the remote. “Is Shaun comin' this evening?”

“Probably, as is usual,” Leigh said bitterly. She stared at Gabby. “Why?”

“Just wonderin',” Gabby said defensively.

Leigh stared. Gabby reached out for the remote, but Leigh leaned over to snatch it from her.

“Oi!”

“Homework _first,_ ” Leigh ordered. “And don't say you don't have any, because your homework diary's been left on the kitchen table. I know you have a project due in by the end of the week which you haven't even _started_ yet.”

“There you go _again!_ ” Gabby wailed. “Why'd you have to go snoopin'?”

“Because you'd be screwed if I didn't,” Leigh said hotly. “Besides, you said you _like_ History. Better prove it by starting your homework, right?”

Gabby grumbled to herself again, but stood up reluctantly. “ _Shaun_ lets me watch TV when you're not here. And he even _helps_ me with my homework.”

Leigh's eyes grew wide. She watched Gabby walk off, baffled by her comment. “What, so you _like_ Shaun now? Thought he was a pisshead?”

“That was _before_ I knew how nice he is,” Gabby argued. She sat down at the kitchen table and flicked through her homework diary. “He was tellin' me about his kid when we went out for that day. His name's Adam. Did you know Shaun's wife _died?_ It's just him and Adam now. No wonder Shaun's always so grumpy. He ain't horrible; he's just _sad._ ”

Leigh blinked, taken aback. “She _died?_ ”

Gabby frowned, looking entirely unimpressed. “He’s been workin’ for ya for ages and you don’t even _know_ that?” she asked, shaking her head in disapproval. “His boy’s only tiny…I met him when we stayed over at his place for the night. Proper sweet little kid though, always laughin’ and such…Shaun’s face proper lights up when he’s with his boy. Ya can tell he really adores him. He’s got all kinds of happy pictures up ‘round his place of his wife.”

Leigh frowned, suddenly feeling quite bad about how she’d been treating Shaun. She couldn’t imagine losing a spouse and being left to raise a child entirely by herself. The fact that Shaun had to stay away from his son so much in order to monitor Leigh didn’t help either. She wondered how he’d come to work for DYAD. Did they have some kind of handle on him the way that they did most monitors?

The room lapsed into silence as Gabby started on her homework. Leigh stared at the TV blankly, mulling over what Gabby had said. Was it true that Shaun was really a nice guy, and that Leigh simply hadn’t given him a fair chance? Inwardly she knew full well that that was exactly the case. All Leigh had allowed herself to see in him was a DYAD minion, the same as Daniel. But that wasn’t true; not really. She couldn’t see Shaun ever doing the horrible things that Daniel did. If that was the case, she never would have left Gabby with him for an entire twenty-four hour period.

Leigh looked at the clock, knowing that Shaun was due to arrive in just over an hour. Usually Leigh would simply wait for him and order him to cook for her, but she didn’t feel like doing that tonight. Instead, the hairdresser stood and made her way into the kitchen to make a start on dinner herself. She could feel Gabby’s gaze boring into her back, but Leigh ignored her and simply carried on taking out ingredients and mixing various things into a bowl.

Gabby smirked to herself widely, but managed to refrain from commenting and simply carried on with her homework. When she heard the front door open and close, Leigh was just taking dinner out of the oven.

Shaun entered the room, and paused to stare at the hairdresser with wide eyes. “ _You_ cooked? Feeling all right there, Ashleigh? Didn’t hit your head, did you?”

Leigh scowled at his comments, but quickly swallowed her sarcastic reply and instead shrugged. “Just felt like doing it tonight.”

“I guilt tripped her into it,” Gabby announced with a wide, proud smile.

Shaun blinked, and then snorted as he tried to hold back a laugh. “Well then, I’m impressed, Gabby,” he said, obviously very amused.

Leigh rolled her eyes a bit. “Go put away your homework stuff and get washed up for dinner,” she told Gabby as she took plates and silverware down from the cabinets.

Gabby continued to snigger, but did as she was told. She looked more than pleased to be doing something besides homework.

Shaun watched the young girl leave, and then looked back at Leigh. “She _really_ managed to guilt trip you?” he asked.

Leigh shrugged as she set the table. “She told me about your wife and son,” she explained. “I had no idea…how long ago did it happen?”

Shaun became very rigid then, frowning. He looked quite sad all of a sudden. “Four years ago…it happened when Adam was two.”

“I’m sorry,” Leigh told him sincerely.

Shaun nodded numbly, but didn’t respond. When Gabby returned, she noticed the changed atmosphere and smiled to herself. Maybe now there would be peace for a little while.

\--

After calling Leigh, Tracy made more excuses not to talk to Morgan, and the surgeon was not having any more of it. She watched Tracy from across the room, considering her present options.

Simply discarding Tracy was currently not a viable means to address the issue, as that would not be productive towards learning what the older inmate had to say, if she even had anything to tell. It was entirely possible that the whole story was a lie, which would explain why Tracy did not want to speak with Morgan at all…but there was always a chance that that there was something to be learned.

“What’re ya thinkin’?” Saffi asked, glancing down at the clone. “Don’t seem like she’s ownin’ up to anything, does it?”

“Indeed,” Morgan murmured, staring blankly as she considered how to best handle the situation. “Perhaps some…gentle persuasion is in order.”

Morgan kept an eye on Tracy for the following few hours. It was obvious that Tracy was purposely staying in well-populated areas, or areas with a large number of guards close by. It was only when the officers began rounding up the inmates for lockdown that Tracy returned to her cell.

Knowing that she would only have a window of a few minutes, Morgan followed Tracy up the stairs to the third floor. She entered the cell without permission, closed the door behind her and stared at Tracy darkly. Tracy turned around and seemed surprised, and perhaps even a bit afraid.

“Oi, we ain’t got time to talk right now-” Tracy began, but Morgan wasn't in the mood to listen.

She flew across the room and slammed Tracy to the concrete wall by her throat, staring blankly as the older woman coughed and struggled. “You are _really_ pushing it now, dearie,” Morgan told her, looking Tracy straight in the eyes as she tightened her grip ever-so-slightly. “I would like you to take this evening to consider poor Anna Wick. Do you remember her? Poor dear attempted to smuggle in a set of small razor blades and ended up getting more than a few of them lodged in her throat after _not repaying_ the individual who aided in the smuggling. Terribly painful, I’d imagine. It would be devastating if such an accident should befall _you_ in the coming days. Imagine your poor children being left without a mother…”

“Sick _bitch_!” Tracy gasped as she attempted to pry Morgan's hands away.

Suddenly the pressure on her throat vanished, and Tracy coughed loudly as she attempted to catch her breath. She wasn’t sure if she’d been successful in fending Morgan off, or if Morgan had chosen to allow her to go.

Before Tracy could recover enough to say anything, the door to her cell opened and Officer Holmes peeked in, looking rather annoyed. “Time for lockup! Chamberlyn, back to your cell this instant; we haven’t got all night! _Some_ of us have families to go home to!”

“With pleasure,” Morgan said, exiting the cell without a single glance back at Tracy.

Holmes looked at Tracy, unimpressed at her coughing. “Going to survive the night?”

Tracy glared up at her, but it appeared Holmes didn’t care either way, as the door was soon closed and locked. Tracy took a deep breath and sat on the edge of her bed, her coughing finally subsiding a bit, even as her neck ached. She wouldn’t be surprised if there were bruises to show for it in the morning.

Tracy closed her eyes tightly, trying to figure out what to do. She wasn’t sure how much longer simply avoiding Morgan would work, and she didn’t know what she could possibly tell her. Surely the surgeon wouldn’t believe anything about clones. To any one who wasn’t involved, it’d just seem like an ugly lie, and it wasn’t like Tracy could prove it.

“Damn it!” Tracy snapped to herself. She had to figure something out tonight. She hoped her plan with the phone worked out well. If it didn’t, then all of this would have been for nothing.

\--

Down on the second floor of the prison, Aila looked at the phone warily. She wasn’t sure when Tracy’s mysterious contact on the outside was planning on calling, but the doctor had set the phone to vibrate anyway so that it didn’t alert anyone when it went off.

The night, as usual, was long and full of random shouting and laughing. Aila groaned lowly as she tossed and turned. Pale moonlight shone through the small window, and Aila looked up at it quietly. It had become a bit of a habit to stare out at the sky at night. She’d never noticed before coming here how much of a privilege it was to see the sky and breathe in fresh air at any given time, without needing the permission of guards every day.

Suddenly, Aila jumped as the phone started buzzing. She looked around quickly at Saffi, but the taller inmate seemed to be fast asleep.

Aila quickly checked the number displayed on the screen. She didn’t recognise the caller, but she answered the phone anyway, heart racing as spoke as quietly as she could.

“Hello?”


	18. Chapter 17

Leigh paced around her bedroom absently, holding Gabby’s phone to her ear. She knew she couldn’t keep stealing the young girl’s phone, but she didn’t have the time to go and buy a new cell phone of her own.

“Aila?” the hairdresser asked, frowning at the little bit of static she heard. “Can you hear me?”

“Aye…” Aila said slowly. “Who are you?”

“Aila, it’s Leigh,” Leigh told her, feeling a mix of emotions to hear the Scottish clone’s voice again. At least Aila really was alive after being tortured by Daniel. That meant that Lucas had successfully gotten her the help she needed.

Silence followed, punctuated only by a sharp gasp.

“Aila?” Leigh asked again, slightly louder this time. Did the doctor not hear her due to the static?

“You’re not Leigh. Who is this really? If it’s some kind of joke, it’s not fucking funny,” Aila growled then. The harshness in her voice took Leigh by surprise.

“ _What?_ ” the hairdresser squeaked, unsure what to make of the situation. “I _am_ Leigh, I swear! I had Tracy get the phone to you so that we could talk. Aila, _why_ are you in prison? What went wrong with you guys going to Canada?”

“Leigh isn’t with us anymore, so you can’t be her. Quit bullshitting me and just tell me what you want,” Aila said firmly.

Leigh flailed a bit, having not expected this level of resistance in the slightest. “Aila, I swear to fucking God that it really is me! Don’t you recognise my voice? My accent?”

What on earth did Aila mean by _‘Leigh isn’t with us anymore’_? Did she mean that Leigh wasn’t in the group of clones anymore? Did the doctor believe that there was no way that Leigh would want to contact her after choosing to stay at DYAD? That seemed extremely odd in Leigh’s mind, especially for someone as rational as Aila.

The doctor was silent for several minutes, and for a moment Leigh thought that she might have hung up, but then Aila spoke quietly. “Prove it.”

“Prove it?” Leigh echoed, baffled. “ _How?_ ”

Aila remained silent, and Leigh racked her brain for any way to make Aila believe that it was really her. She _could_ take a photo on Gabby’s phone and then delete it later… “Err...that phone Tracy got you; is it new enough to be able to receive photographs?”

“I don’t think so,” Aila told her. “It’s just a cheap TracFone.”

“Fuck…” Leigh muttered. She tried to think of something on the spot.

“If you really _are_ Leigh, answer me something,” Aila spoke before Leigh could even think. “The first time we ever met, in that cafe, you didn't show your face for a while. What did I call you then?”

Leigh's mind was a blank. The static sounded even louder after Aila stopped talking, and it did nothing to help Leigh think. “Err – _what?_ ” she squeaked. “What did you _call_ me? I...”

“You don't remember?” Aila asked blankly.

Leigh flinched as she tried to recall, but it was just impossible. “Do I remember something so insignificant from a time where everything was utter chaos? No I don't! How could you expect me to remember something like _that?_ ”

Aila said nothing, but the sound of the static cutting off told Leigh that the call had ended. Aila had hung up.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Leigh shouted to herself. Why had she gone and lost her temper? That _definitely_ wasn't going to help matters, or make Aila listen to what she had to say. She called the number back, but Aila refused to answer.

Leigh moodily threw the phone onto the bed and paced angrilly. She didn't even remember that Aila had called her _anything_ back then. She remembered meeting Aila in a cafe, and hiding her face to start with, but the sheer panic caused by Helena shooting at them later on was still fresh on Leigh's mind. Really, it was the only thing Leigh _could_ remember in detail from around that time. The small details from her first few meetings with Aila weren't there in Leigh's memory at all, and she was surprised that Aila remembered such things.

But then, Aila had always been calm and clear-headed, and able to focus. She didn't sound calm on the phone though...Leigh didn't think she'd _ever_ heard Aila sound so angry.

Leigh bit her lip and stopped pacing to stare at herself in the mirror. She couldn't risk calling Aila back until tomorrow night. Doing so sooner might put her at risk of being caught by an officer.

Back at the prison, Aila stared numbly at the phone, her heart hammering rapidly. That wasn't Leigh. It _wasn't_. Leigh was _dead_. _Leigh was dead._

Aila knocked the phone off of her bed, and smashed it under her foot. She stomped on it until it shattered into pieces.

Whatever game Tracy was playing, Aila wanted no part of it. She would make that known to Tracy tomorrow, mother or not.

\--

“So are you coming with us or what?” Rat demanded one morning. She'd been busy packing up and getting ready to leave Lydia's, and so had Lucas and Danielle. They were about to travel back to Scotland to visit Aila, but Kyle was still an issue.

Rat still didn't fully trust him, but nobody was surprised by this. It was usual for her to struggle to trust, and there was still a huge uncertainty about Castor. Rat didn't particularly want Kyle and Ross to part with them for that reason alone. It would be much easier to make sure they kept to their word if they were under Rat's constant supervision.

Such a thing wasn't really possible though, and Rat knew it. Besides, Kyle and Danielle had been bickering endlessly (Kyle found it amusing to torment Danielle with her awful attempts at faking her death, and Danielle had been screeching at him ever since). On top of everything else, Danielle and Kyle's drama was the last thing Rat wanted to deal with.

“There's no _reason_ for me to go with you,” Kyle said lazily as Rat pulled on her jacket.

Rat stared. “So what will you do now, then?”

“Castor is still counting on me to obtain a cure though, and should I report to them that DYAD doesn't hold answers, they'll order me back to base and assign me a new mission. It's best I lie low for a while.”

“What, pretend you still think DYAD has a cure?” Rat asked. “I thought you said you _were_ going to tell Castor that DYAD don't have a cure?”

Kyle nodded. “I did say that, but I'm beginning to reconsider. Think about it. DYAD thinks Danielle is dead, but they'll still have uses for me. If I report back that DYAD can't help us, we'll have to look elsewhere for a cure...and _you_ said you might be able to help. I trust you know I'll put my brothers first.”

Rat's eyes narrowed. She didn't like where this was going. “Naturally,” she replied.

Kyle observed her for a moment. “So it's either stick with DYAD and give you time to do whatever you need to do, or report back to Castor now about you and your location. Castor _will_ come after you if they think you have any _shred_ of information that could help its clones. It would be very easy for me to do that...but I won't.”

“Why not then?” Rat demanded. She didn't like Kyle making threats like this, but it was to be expected.

“For Danielle,” Kyle muttered. He averted his gaze and shrugged. “Our relationship...it wasn't real, but our friendship is.”

Rat continued staring at the male clone, frowning deeply. There was every chance that Kyle was just saying that. The way he and Danielle had been arguing non-stop suggested as much. Whatever the case though, Rat knew that there would come a time when the military _would_ come and demand her services. She’d just have to deal with it when the time came.

“I’ll contact you if I find anything out about the illness that could point to a cure,” she said evenly. “I can’t promise it’ll be any time soon, though. I don’t even know where Katja _is_ right now, or how long it’ll take to find her.”

Kyle nodded once. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Rat remained silent, before looking over at Danielle and Lucas. They had already finished packing, and stood at the front of the library talking to Lydia. “Are we done then?” Rat asked blankly.

“I suppose we are, for now,” Kyle said. “Just don’t forget your promise.”

Rat took a moment to glare at him again, and then walked over to the others. Danielle looked up at Rat awkwardly, saying nothing. She’d been trying to get back on Rat’s good side, and hoped things would go back to normal after the group put some distance between themselves and Kyle and Ross.

“Are we ready?” Rat asked.

“Ja, I zink so,” Lucas nodded.

Rat nodded, and then looked at Lydia. She hugged her tightly with a soft sigh. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“Take care of yourself out there, kid,” Lydia said, hugging the clone back.

“You too,” Rat nodded with a sad smile. She glanced back at her companions again. “Come on…we should get to the airport.”

\--

Tracy made her way down to breakfast quietly, looking around nervously. She’d been awake for most of the night trying to think of ways to get out of Morgan's line of fire, but she hadn’t come up with anything.

As expected, dark bruises covered her throat by the time morning came. She attempted to cover them up with a scarf before leaving her cell. The last thing she needed was for officers to start asking questions.

The only ‘solution’ they would offer her would be to spend some time in the block to stay away from the other inmates. That wouldn’t fix anything though, and would make her look like a coward.

Tracy bypassed the canteen for the moment and made her way outside to have a smoke. Leaning against the wall, Tracy closed her eyes and sighed heavily. The sound of a door opening and closing made her jump, and she looked around to see who was around her. Tracy relaxed marginally when she saw Aila, and inwardly kicked herself for allowing Morgan to make her so jumpy.

“Hey,” Tracy muttered. She guessed that the Scottish clone was going for her morning run, as she seemed to every day before breakfast.

Aila didn’t reply, but offered a sharp glare in response.

Tracy frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Whatever game you’re playing, I don’t want any part of it,” Aila snapped at her.

Tracy stared, lost. “What game? The hell’re you on about?”

“You know,” Aila said accusingly, before running out onto the track.

Tracy was completely baffled, but shook her head and sighed heavily. She had bigger things to worry about right now. Perhaps later on she could call Leigh and ask what happened. If the plan with the phone didn’t work out, then Tracy truly had screwed herself over for no reason.

Rather than staying in one spot where anyone could jump her, Tracy took to wandering around the grounds. The cool morning air helped to clear her head a bit and helped her relax. She mentally reviewed her options for placating Morgan.

At the moment the only solution that came to mind was to just _tell_ Morgan about clones, and hope that she sounded convincing enough, even without documented proof. Perhaps she could even beg Aila to help her, since the Scottish woman already knew everything as well. Right now it seemed that Aila didn’t want anything to do with Tracy, though, so that idea was pushed aside for the moment.

Tracy made her way back inside quietly, passing through the canteen again. She wanted to call Leigh, but she knew that Gabby wouldn’t be going to school for another hour. After getting her breakfast, she became painfully aware of Morgan’s presence in the room.

The clone was sitting beside Saffi, and was thankfully speaking to another inmate. Tracy vaguely recognised the inmate as a new girl who had arrived the week before, and while she felt a bit bad that this new girl had no idea what she was getting herself into, Tracy couldn’t find fault with it for the moment. Perhaps if Morgan had someone else to bully for a while, she might back off from harassing Tracy a little bit.

\--

Leigh was spinning.

Her day, unfortunately, was spent at DYAD. She hadn't slept well the previous night after the disastrous attempt to speak with Aila, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it until Tracy called her. Trying to call Aila back on the number she was given only led to nothing, which told Leigh the phone had likely been disposed of, or destroyed.

Focusing on seeking out Lucas was the next step until Leigh could speak to Tracy. That meant having to approach Rachel, and asking for her advice. Leigh gave Shaun the day off (insisting she wasn't doing it to be nice, but rather because she'd be at DYAD under Rachel's supervision anyway), and arrived at the facility just after Gabby left for school.

Getting Rachel to co-operate, however, felt impossible. Leigh had been sitting in her office all morning, and now lunch time had passed, she was still getting nowhere.

Rachel couldn't _tell_ Leigh that Rat, Aila and Lucas thought she was dead. She couldn't explain that reaching out to Lucas would reveal that she was alive, which would mean the unworthy peasant clones might come back and try to take Leigh away again. No, that would be the _worst_ thing that could happen.

And Leigh knew that turning to Leekie wasn't the way forward, either. She wanted to contact Lucas in secret, in case he was still with Rat and Katja. Leekie couldn't know Leigh wanted to speak with Lucas for that very reason. It would only mean he'd find them and drag them back to DYAD, and everything Leigh had done to protect them would be meaningless.

So Leigh simply took to annoying Rachel by spinning around and around on the office chair. Rachel was trying very hard to work, and threatened to have Leigh escorted out of the building, but they both knew the threat was empty.

“Come _on_ Rachel; you know it makes sense for me to speak to Lucas!” Leigh whined as she span. “He worked with Maggie Chen, remember? If she helped to hide Amelia in the first place, he might know something!”

“Lucas is _busy_ , as I have already told you,” Rachel explained impatiently. Her typing on her computer became steadily louder as she attempted to block out Leigh's irritating spinning.

“Busy doing _what?_ ”

“He is serving DYAD in other ways currently. You are not authorised to have access to this information.”

Leigh stopped spinning at last, feeling quite dizzy. She glared at Rachel as her vision doubled. “Then can't we drop this hunt for Amelia instead?” she demanded. “I don't get why it's so important to even _find_ her. I did what Leekie wanted and found out about Helena. Shouldn't you lot be focusing on capturing her? That _was_ the deal for me staying put and behaving, wasn't it?”

“We can't drop the hunt for Amelia, Leigh. She may hold answers about the lost clone. Helena's twin. The fact she is outside of DYAD's care is more dangerous than you know.”

Leigh snorted a bit and carried on spinning. “DYAD's _care..._ ” she muttered quietly so Rachel wouldn't hear her. “Well if you're so desperate to find her, Lucas is seriously the only thing I can think of, Rachel. I don't know what else you want me to _do._ ”

“You can stop that obnoxious spinning for a start,” Rachel said wearily. She glanced up from her computer. “And you can resign to the fact that Aldous will be visiting Gabby's mother to seek information himself. Tracy may know more than she already told you. If this is the case, it could help us to locate Amelia.”

Leigh paused for a moment. It was true that Tracy knew more contacts, and refused to give Leigh their names, but the only way Leekie would obtain such information would be to resort to drastic measures. Tracy wouldn't give up the information willingly...would she?

Leigh felt quite ill then. Putting Tracy in danger was the last thing she wanted, especially since Aila was there with her too. Leigh decided to keep quiet about Aila, though. There might still be some small chance that DYAD didn't know she was in prison, and Leigh didn't want to be the one to alert them if they didn't.

But was that wishful thinking? Leigh just shrugged to herself. DYAD was _everywhere_ , it seemed...

“I still want to talk to Lucas,” Leigh demanded firmly. “It's the next logical step, surely. Leave Tracy alone. I'm sick of DYAD resorting to blackmail and threats to get what they want, Rachel. And I hate that you encourage it.”

Rachel turned her head sharply towards her sister, staring at her with wide eyes. “Did anyone even _mention_ blackmail or threats?” she snapped.

“Oh don’t kid yourself, Rachel. You know full well that’s what Leekie will do,” Leigh shot, holding her twin’s gaze steadily. “If Tracy refused to tell _me_ anything more, what makes you think she’ll tell him? Hell, she’ll probably be _more_ inclined to resist giving him information after all of this.”

“Well she should not be so quick to resist!” Rachel snapped, and something in the blonde’s tone made Leigh pause and watch her sister with wide eyes. “ _SHE_ is the reason we were split at birth. As far as I am concerned, she deserves whatever Aldous gives her, and you should _not_ be feeling bad for her!” Rachel ranted, losing herself for a moment as she allowed her bitterness about the situation to show.

“No, Rachel, she’s not,” Leigh said quietly. “Leekie’s the one who split us up. Tracy couldn’t have known what would happen. She said that my mum never even told her that Leekie took you away. Tracy was only trying to help protect two innocent children from being the subjects of some twisted experiment.”

Rachel scoffed, crossing her arms. “DYAD do not make a habit of being _cruel_ to its subjects. Whatever Amelia claims to have heard, she _clearly_ over-reacted.”

Leigh stared at Rachel, saddened by how blind she was to DYAD’s true nature. Leigh wanted to point out that DYAD was extremely cruel to Rat’s sister, Cecile, and that Rachel herself was extremely cruel towards Aila…but doing so would be tasteless and wouldn’t help her persuade Rachel to give up Lucas’s contact details.

The hairdresser sighed, considering her options. Rachel said that Lucas was doing DYAD’s business currently, so in a way, it seemed unlikely that he would obviously be in contact with Rat. Even if he really was still in contact with the Swiss clone, he _had_ to be taking steps to ensure that he could do DYAD’s work without alerting them to her presence. It was a massive risk, but with Rachel being unco-operative, there was little else she could do to move forward.

Leigh stood up from her chair. Rachel looked up at her with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to ask Leekie about getting Lucas’s details,” Leigh told her sister. “He’s the one who wants Amelia found, and you said that Lucas still works for DYAD…”

“No!” Rachel gasped. “You _cannot_ contact him! As previously stated, he is very busy. Aldous will surely tell you exactly the same.”

Leigh stared at Rachel, suddenly getting a strange feeling in her gut. “Rachel, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Of course not, do not be daft,” Rachel said evenly, quickly composing herself again. “Allow Aldous to extract the needed information from Tracy, and we will proceed from there.”

Leigh sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t _do_ that, Rachel. She’s my aunt, and I’m not going to just sit by and let DYAD bully her,” she said firmly. “I’m _going_ to talk to Leekie. He’s always so _busy_ , so surely he’d be up for it if it saved him having to make a trip up north.”

Rachel frowned and became very still and doll-like. She knew that she was fighting a losing battle, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to keep Leigh from contacting Lucas. Surely Leigh would find some way to approach Aldous without Rachel’s knowledge, if only to keep her unworthy peasant aunt safe.

Perhaps Rachel could contact Lucas _first_ and ensure that the peasant clones did not find out about Leigh being alive…but could she make him listen? She would need to find something that would work against him, should he fail to comply…

Rachel paused, realising for the first time that Leigh was correct in saying that DYAD’s natural course of action was blackmail. The blonde shrugged it off though and refused to acknowledge it any further than that. It wasn’t _her_ fault that blackmail was the most effective strategy most of the time, and that it was a quick and relatively easy method to establish co-operation.

“Rachel?” Leigh asked, mildly creeped out by her twin’s blank stare. It was obvious that Rachel was thinking very hard about something all of a sudden.

Rachel snapped herself out of her thoughts and cleared her throat. “If you are so desperate to contact Lucas…I _suppose_ I can have a look at his current mission and determine if he is available to speak with you,” she said slowly. “It will take some time, though. I will contact you with his details when I know for sure that your presence will not jeopardize his current work.”

Leigh frowned a bit. Just what was DYAD forcing Lucas to do for them? Leigh hoped Lucas was safe, and that Rat was safe as well. The moody hacker bugged her, but Leigh would _not_ lead DYAD to her, no matter what.

“I still want to talk to Leekie and try to convince him to leave Tracy alone,” the hairdresser said after a moment.

“Your overbearing sense of justice will one day be your downfall…” Rachel murmured, half to herself. She wanted to protect Leigh, but how could she if the hairdresser constantly got in the middle of things?

Leigh crossed the room to open the door. She glanced back at Rachel. “Not if your downfall happens first, Rachel,” she said coldly.

Rachel could only watch as Leigh left the room.


	19. Chapter 18

A familiar ring caught Leigh's attention as she hurried through the DYAD building to locate Leekie's office. She slung her bag off her shoulder, pulled it open, and dug around for Gabby's phone, which she'd made a point of taking with her. She knew it was likely Tracy would want to get in touch.

“Hello?” Leigh spoke when she answered. She halted in the main reception of the building, standing against a wall out of the way of people walking by.

“Ashleigh...care to explain what the _fuck_ happened with Aila last night?” Tracy asked.

Leigh paused and blinked. “If anything, Tracy, I think _you_ are the one who needs to explain,” she said hotly. She didn't like to be short, but her recent conversation with Rachel had left her in a bitter mood. “Have you even _talked_ to Aila about any of this? Because she didn't believe she was talking to _me!_ ”

A silence followed. “ _What?_ ” Tracy gasped. “What did she say to you then?”

“Well what has she said to _you?_ ” Leigh countered.

“Bugger all!” Tracy told her. “She thinks I'm her monitor, remember? And after your call with her last night, she's even bitchier than usual...she thinks I'm playin' some warped game on DYAD's behalf!”

“But why didn't she believe it was really me?” Leigh asked. She paused to herself. Did Aila think she was speaking with Rachel, for some reason? That Rachel was spying for DYAD?

“What did she _say_ to you, Ashleigh?” Tracy asked again.

“Err,” Leigh said, forcing herself to remember quickly. “She said that Leigh wasn't with them anymore; that's all,” she shrugged. “Did you tell her you're my aunt?”

“No, because I didn't think she'd believe it without solid proof,” Tracy sighed. “Ain't no chance of her talkin' to me now, is there?”

“Jesus bloody Christ; it's one bloody thing after another,” Leigh grumbled to herself, rubbing her forehead.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Leigh shot. “You're gonna have to _try_ to talk to her. I want to come and visit her so she can see it's me.”

Tracy hesitated as she considered what Leigh just said. “Well you can't bloody well _do_ that unless she sends you a visitin' order, can ya?”

“Tracy, I am _begging_ you here,” Leigh said desperately. “You've got to convince her it's really me. If not, at least get her to agree to see me; I need to know why she thinks I'm lying-”

“ _Ashleigh,_ ” Tracy interrupted sternly. “I've got _enough_ bullshit drama to be dealin' with in this hell hole as it is without tryin' to fix whatever's goin' on with you and Aila.”

Leigh felt her anger rising, and spoke again before she could hold back the urge. “Yeah? Well get ready, because you're gonna have another bloody problem now as well. Leekie's coming in to visit you. He wants to know more about Amelia.”

“Wait; _what?!_ You _said_ this wouldn't come back to bite me!”

“It _won't!_ ” Leigh argued, but she wasn't sure she believed her own words. “He just wants to talk to you! But if he if _he_ can get special permission to visit without a visiting order, I'm sure _I_ can find a way as well. You know how powerful DYAD is; Leekie will find a way to let me see Aila if I ask for it. And if I do that, Aila won't trust me _or_ you then, will she? But if you win her over and get her to agree to a visit, this will be _much_ easier for all of us.”

Leigh still didn't want to tell Leekie about Aila at _all_ , but she hoped the subtle warning was enough to get Tracy to co-operate with her.

Tracy finally gave a defeated sigh. “That bastard's _really_ comin' to see me, eh?”

“Yeah, and there's nothing I can do about it, except warn you,” Leigh muttered, sounding a bit calmer now.

“I'll try and win Aila over and get back to you then, but I'm not happy about it, Ashleigh. I ain't happy about _any_ of this.”

Tracy hung up.

Leigh absently lowered the phone from her ear and gazed numbly at the floor. She'd just argued with Rachel and expressed disgust and disapproval at the use of threats and blackmail, and not five minutes later, Leigh had gone and done exactly that to her own aunt. She had no real intention of getting Leekie to force a visit between herself and Aila, but the fact she threatened Tracy with it was still bad enough.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Leigh whispered to herself. She covered her face with her hands for a moment, and took a calm, steadying breath. Then she tossed Gabby's phone back into her bag, and turned to continue on to Leekie's office.

When Leigh walked into the large office, Leekie looked up in surprise. He was sitting behind his usual desk, apparently signing stacks of paperwork. The aging man smiled widely at her. “Ashleigh! What a surprise. What brings you up here?” he asked in his usual overly cheerful way.

Leigh forced herself to remain neutral, even though Leekie’s voice and annoyingly happy demeanour made her skin crawl. “I wanna talk about Tracy Wilks.”

“Oh?” Leekie asked. “Well shut the door and have a seat.”

Leigh quietly did as she was told, before speaking again. “I wanna know why you’re intending to harass Tracy even more instead of looking for Helena.”

Leekie continued smiling, as if humouring a child. “Well, that should be obvious, Ashleigh. Your aunt can help us find Amelia, and by extension, Helena. I’m sure you can understand the desire to find her as quickly as possible so that we may come to an understanding about what happened to her children, and possibly gain some insight as to their current whereabouts.”

Leigh scowled a bit. “What makes you think she’ll talk to you about _anything?_ Planning on blackmailing her or some shit?”

Leekie frowned, looking almost sad then. “No, of course not. Quite the opposite, really. We were considering pulling some strings and getting her out of prison in exchange for her co-operation.”

Leigh’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. DYAD had the power to _do_ that? Leigh wondered just how a single company could possibly hold that level of influence over a prison in a different country. The hairdresser was suddenly extremely tempted to try to get him to free Aila as well, but she held back. What was she even _thinking?!_ Trusting Leekie to do _anything_ was so far out of the question.

“Yeah, forgive me if I think that’s bullshit,” Leigh said lowly instead. “How the hell could you have that kind of power over a Scottish prison?”

Leekie arched an eyebrow, frowning. “DYAD has friends in many places, and is willing to compromise with them, for the greater good. Wouldn’t it be better if Tracy was out of prison, where she could be with her daughter? It saddens me that you immediately assume the worst of us.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Leigh muttered, thinking of the chip in her neck. She spoke up then, looking Leekie in the eyes. “Rachel’s sorting something out for me that could prove to be an alternate path towards finding Amelia. There’s _no_ need to go and see Tracy.”

“Oh?” Leekie asked, looking intrigued. “What is this ‘alternate path’?”

“Rachel’s gonna get me Lucas Weiss’s contact details,” Leigh told him evenly. “He was Maggie Chen’s partner. If Maggie helped hide the babies, maybe Lucas can help me find Amelia.”

Leekie tilted his head, thinking about it. “That may not be a bad plan,” he agreed. “Well done, Ashleigh. Let’s hope that this leads us somewhere!”

“So you’ll back off from Tracy?” Leigh demanded.

“We’ll see,” Leekie said. “First we have to see if this new line of thinking leads us to Amelia in a timely manner.”

Leigh glared at him, having a feeling that he would go and harass Tracy anyway. The hairdresser knew that she couldn’t really do or say anything else for the moment, and so she stood and left the office without another word.

Leekie watched her leave, sighing heavily when the door closed behind her. “Bloody twins…”

\--

Rat, Danielle, and Lucas safely arrived in Glasgow. They were currently at a hotel, and had no choice but to wait for Aila to call them again to set up a visit. Danielle was draped across the bed boredly, while Rat sat beside her.

The hacker was staring down at her computer, typing things quickly. She hadn’t moved or made a sound otherwise, engrossed in whatever she was doing. Lucas sat in a chair next to the window, looking out over the city as he relaxed.

Danielle rolled over and looked up at Rat, before lightly poking her arm. “Ratty?”

“What?” Rat asked, not looking over.

“What are you doing?”

“Research,” Rat answered vaguely.

“On Castor?” Danielle asked knowingly.

“Yeah,” Rat nodded, leaning back to run a hand through her hair. “I haven’t found much about male clones yet, but apparently Castor and Leda are names from a story in Greek and Roman mythology.”

Danielle frowned in confusion. “Leda? What is a Leda?”

“Us,” Rat told her. “The official name for the female clones is Project Leda.”

Danielle shifted closer to take in the information on Rat's screen. “Project Leda...did you know about zis already?”

Rat stiffened, but then nodded. “Yeah. I've known about Leda for a while. I've done a lot of research and digging through DYAD's systems over the years, and that's how I learned the name. To be honest, it's partly why my gut tells me Castor and Leda are connected. I _knew_ I'd heard the name Castor before, somewhere...and after looking into this now, I can see why.”

Rat tilted the laptop so Danielle could see it better, and switched to a new tab. She had a webpage up full of information about the mythology, and the stories about Leda and Castor.

“Oui...zee names come from zee same place, suggesting our creators are also Castor's creators...” Danielle said thoughtfully. She pulled Rat's laptop onto her knee without permission, finding herself deeply intrigued by the mythology.

“Also makes sense that both sets of clones get fatally sick,” Rat added. She stared at Danielle for a moment, just watching the skater absorb herself into the information on the screen. “Is it the same illness?”

“Huh?” Danielle asked, completely distracted.

“The Castor guys. Is their sickness like ours?”

Danielle shrugged. “I do not know. Kyle never told me anyzing ozer zan zee fact 'is brozers are dying, and he must save zem. I do not know details about zeir illness.”

Rat leaned back on the bed and remained quiet, just thinking. If Castor and Leda came from the same source, that had to mean DYAD wasn't responsible for the creation of clones. If they were, why hadn't Rat found anything about Castor while hacking DYAD all these years? It seemed very likely that DYAD had simply taken over Project Leda in some shape or form. Perhaps details of their true creators were way too far out of Rat's reach...were the creators with Castor instead? Or elsewhere? Something just wasn't adding up...

Danielle nudged Rat, pulling her from her thoughts. “What?” Rat asked.

“Zee 'orses,” Danielle mumbled. She gestured to images on the screen displayed with information about Castor and Pullox. The brothers were depicted with two strong horses in almost every picture. “Kyle, 'e 'as zis tattoo on 'is arm, just 'ere,” Danielle explained. She tapped her own arm where the tattoo on Kyle was located. “Zee tattoo is an 'orse wiz two 'eads. Only I 'ave seen zee same tattoo on one of 'is brozers also.”

“Really? Interesting...” Rat said thoughtfully. “Just backs up the theory they got the name Castor from all this mythology; the same as Leda...seems like very typical military fashion too, doesn't it? Kyle said they were all raised self-aware, together. Marking them all the same like that makes sense...” She trailed off, making a mental note to look more into the male clones as soon as she could. Trying to hack the _military_ would be a terrible risk, though...something about Castor's presence felt very threatening...

“You said zat you ‘ave not found _much_ about zee male clones, oui? But does zis mean you ‘ave found _somezing?_ ” Danielle asked then, snapping Rat of her thoughts.

“Yeah,” Rat said, taking the laptop back to bring up another webpage. “While looking through some old military websites, I came across one mention of the word Castor. It’s not much, but here…”

She turned the laptop around so Danielle could see. On the screen was a single image of two people wearing lab coats, one man and one woman. They were in what looked like a laboratory, and a man stood in a military outfit behind them holding a large gun.

“The only thing that they have noted down is the name _‘Project Castor’_ , and the date of July 22, 1977,” Rat told her. “I can’t say for certain, but I think these two might have been directly working on it. Maybe they’re even two of the original creators. There’s no names listed that I could find, but it’s something at least?”

 

“Oui, zis is a good first step,” Danielle agreed. “Too bad zat we do not know who zey are, or if zey are even still alive.”

“Yeah. I’ll keep looking around for any more information connected to this photo,” Rat nodded, looking back down at the screen as she switched back to the mythology page.

Danielle stood up to stretch. She yawned a bit as she made her way to the door. “I am going to make a drink. Would you like one?”

“Hot chocolate please,” Rat requested. She scrolled through the stories Danielle had been reading, leaving Danielle to go and make drinks.

The skater left the room and proceeded to the kitchen area. She frowned a bit at the sound of Lucas speaking. She hadn’t even noticed him leaving the other room while she’d been reading. As Danielle got nearer, she realised he was speaking in German, and therefore couldn't understand what was being said.

“Sie lebt? Ich kann nicht ruhig darüber! Regina wird mir nie verzeihen!”

Danielle paused at the kitchen door. Lucas had his back to her in the kitchen, and he looked very agitated as he spoke. He remained quiet for a moment as whoever was on the other end of the line spoke.

“Nein - Ich verstehe...sie haben mein wort...” Lucas trailed off and gave a startled jump when he turned around to come face to face with Danielle. “Ich muss los.”

Lucas ended the call and watched Danielle. Danielle eyed him accusingly.

“What were you saying about Ratty?” Danielle asked him.

Lucas blinked innocently. “Vat?”

“Ratty,” Danielle repeated. She took a step forward and folded her arms, fixing Lucas with an unimpressed, and quite intimidating stare. “I 'eard you say 'er name in zere...Regina.”

“I...” Lucas began, but he was stunned at having been caught, and the fact Danielle had no trouble boldly confronting him.

“Were you speaking to Katja?” Danielle guessed. “Do you know where she is?”

“ _Vat?_ No!” Lucas insisted. “Why would I keep somezing like zat from Regina?! Vhy vould I _encourage_ Katja to stay avay wizout any contact?!”

Danielle narrowed her eyes, and just stared at him. Lucas did look quite desperate, and seemed offended that Danielle would suggest such a thing...

But how much did Danielle know about Lucas, really? How much did _Rat_ , for that matter?

“I 'ope you are telling zee truth,” Danielle warned him. “Rat would be _crushed_ if you were keeping Katja from 'er.”

“I am _not!_ ” Lucas insisted. “I do not know what you zink you heard, but you are vrong. It vas a private phone call, and I did _not_ mention Regina.”

Danielle continued with her unblinking, blank stare. It wasn't like she understood a word of German. It was possible she misheard some of the words. She frowned deeply then, deciding not to tell Rat about this for now. It would be pointless to give Rat another reason to be paranoid over a simple misunderstanding...but now, Danielle couldn't help feeling paranoid herself.

“Well I've got my eye on you,” she warned Lucas, dramatically pointing at him as she strutted by to flick on the kettle.

Lucas sighed heavily. He could feel Danielle leering at him as she made the drinks, but he tried to ignore her. He only _wished_ this was as simple as being in secret contact with Katja.

He'd prefer that over a fierce warning from Rachel Duncan any day.

\--

Aila stared up at the ceiling absently as she relaxed on her bed. She’d spent most of the day in her cell, and was beginning to feel extremely restless. The call from the previous night weighed heavily on her mind, and she tried to make sense of it. Who had she spoken to? It certainly _did_ sound like Leigh, but that was impossible. Leigh was _dead_.

Was it Rachel, perhaps? It didn’t sound like Rachel, but then it was entirely possible that Rachel could change her speech patterns to mimic Leigh. But if that was true, why would Tracy have given her a phone to talk to Rachel? Rat said that Tracy wasn’t working for DYAD, so how did she have a connection to Rachel?

“This makes _no_ fucking sense,” the doctor groaned lowly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Really, the only logical thing to do would be to confront Tracy and demand answers, but that could potentially be dangerous as well. Then again, what could DYAD do to her now, really? Aila was already stuck in prison for the rest of her life, and had already proved that she could handle being tortured for days on end without breaking or giving information up.

There was also the matter of her birth. Now that some time had passed, and the shock of it had worn off, Aila couldn’t help being extremely curious about everything, and Tracy was the only one who could offer answers. Didn’t Aila at least deserve that much, even if Tracy wasn’t overly trustworthy?

Checking the clock on the wall, Aila saw that it was very nearly dinner time. Perhaps she could confront Tracy then? Or maybe wait until afterwards and meet with the older woman in private? She needed to get up and walk around, in any case.

Constantly lying down and doing nothing was making her stir-crazy. Most of the inmates already seemed to be downstairs getting ready for dinner. Aila took to wandering around the second floor, debating going outside for a bit before dinner.

“ _CODE BLUE!_ ” a loud voice suddenly yelled, effectively silencing many of the inmates.

Aila blinked, watching as several officers suddenly ran towards the canteen. The doctor followed them quickly, wondering what had happened. This prison may work differently, but generally she knew that a code blue meant a medical emergency of some kind.

Perhaps Aila could offer some sort of help until the prison doctor arrived? It wasn’t hard to tell where the incident was, as most of the inmates were gathered around and watching. After pushing through the crowd, Aila paused and stared with wide eyes.

Morgan was lying on the ground, twitching and shaking violently. Her eyes were wide and glazed over, and Aila immediately recognised the symptoms of a seizure. The officers around her were talking into handheld radios, requesting assistance from the prison doctor.

Saffi stood nearby, looking surprisingly calm. She looked at the officers nearby, before talking to them. “She’ll be fine; it’s just her epilepsy acting up again.”

Aila blinked, confused. Morgan had epilepsy? Generally epilepsy was a genetic disorder that ran in families, though it could rarely be caused by a severe head injury as well, or a growth in the brain. If it was genetic though, wouldn’t all clones have it? Aila never heard of clones naturally getting the disorder, so it was very likely that Morgan's condition was caused by some type of external factor.

After a few moments, Morgan stopped twitching and simply remained limp, appearing to have been knocked unconscious. It wasn’t long before the prison doctor arrived with a gurney, and Morgan was carted off to the medical wing. Saffi went with her.

The officers looked around the crowd. Aila noticed Officer Holmes with them. The old woman frowned deeply in disapproval, glaring at the large circle of inmates. “Right, nothing to see here! Move along, all of you! _Now!_ ” she snapped. The inmates soon started dispersing and going about their business as if nothing had happened.

Holmes continued muttering loudly to the other officers about how absurd it was that they had to offer care to psychopaths at all, but it appeared that many of the officers simply ignored her and got back to their stations.

Aila shook her head, and tried to remember what she had been doing before being distracted by Morgan’s seizure. The doctor walked down the hallway and made her way outside. It was a warm and sunny day, signalling the beginning of spring. Several inmates were enjoying the nice weather, and it didn’t take Aila long to spot Tracy leaning against a wall on the other side of the yard.

Aila debated approaching her, but before she could think about it, it seemed like Tracy spotted her and was already making her way over. Aila sighed slightly, but forced herself to remain where she was.

Tracy paused a few feet away from the clone, her face expressionless. “Oi, can we talk?”

“About what?” Aila asked, crossing her arms slightly.

“About Ashleigh Callingham,” Tracy told her bluntly, making Aila tense up a bit.

“Look, whatever that call was about, I _don’t_ want to talk about it. That _wasn’t_ Leigh, so leave it,” the doctor muttered, before quickly changing the subject. “I’ve got something else to ask you about. 18 th May, 1984, and 23rd May, 1984. Do those dates mean anything to you?”

Tracy became motionless. She just gazed at Aila numbly as she took in the question. Aila anxiously stared back, wondering what Tracy was thinking about.

After a moment, Tracy shifted forward a bit. “So you really _are_ Hailee...”

Aila was a bit put off by the lack of emotion in Tracy's voice. It was more of an informative statement than an emotional revelation.

“The day you were born,” Tracy continued thoughtfully. “And the day...the day-”

“The day I went into the system; yeah. And you say you have two other kids? Nice to know you wanted more after giving one up,” Aila hissed. She couldn't help spewing these bitter words with the overwhelming grief this place put onto her. She was painfully aware of her words upsetting Tracy, even as Tracy tried so hard to stay composed. “But that's why you've been following me pretty much everywhere, yeah?” Aila asked. She shook slightly in anger. “Because you _knew?_ You knew who I was?”

Tracy shook her head. “No...I didn't know; I just wondered.”

“You should've told me,” Aila hissed.

“How _could_ I?” Tracy asked her. She took another few steps forward, her brave front slipping as she allowed desperation into her voice. “I had no way of confirming it, did I? Not even to myself! How was I supposed to _prove_ anything?”

Aila said nothing. She knew there was no way Tracy could have possibly proven such a thing while locked up in here...but was that a lie? She claimed to be in contact with Leigh, after all, and Aila suspected DYAD had put her up to it; maybe even _without_ Rat's knowledge. It wasn't unlikely that they'd leave such information off of their systems so the hacker couldn't access it...

So if Tracy was in contact with DYAD; if she'd somehow managed to sneak in a _phone_ without the officers knowing, surely she could have brought in proof of Aila's birth too.

“Aila...” Tracy said desperately. “I _want_ to tell you everything; you deserve nothing but the truth, but you _have_ to believe me about Ashleigh first! All of this _starts_ with her...and to be honest, I'd love to know how _you_ even found out about...about this...about us...”

Aila swallowed hard as she watched Tracy. She remembered Spencer asking Leigh all those months ago how she discovered that Rachel was her twin, and Leigh had been quick to change the subject. She hadn't been willing to spill information on Rat's hacking abilities, and Aila found she was in the same boat right now. It was vital to keep Rat's involvement quiet until Aila knew for certain that she could trust Tracy.

“That's not important...for _now,_ ” Aila explained quickly. She managed to keep her voice calm. She was still angry, but she'd come to Tracy because she wanted answers. It was obvious now that this situation was more upsetting for Tracy than she was letting on; Aila could tell by the look on her face. It was so easy for Aila to be angry, but Tracy was involved with DYAD somehow, and that meant the circumstances of mothering a clone child were extremely dangerous. Aila simply had to remind herself not to judge or blame Tracy until she knew the truth...until she knew if DYAD was to blame, like it was for everything.

Fighting Tracy was not going to work. If Aila wanted the truth, she would have to consent to listen. Besides, Aila just didn't have the energy to resist anymore. Being constantly paranoid was mentally draining.

“Tell me about Leigh,” she whispered.

Tracy turned and lowered herself to sit on a concrete step by the wall. She gazed absently at the wire fence keeping the inmates in, waiting for Aila to join her.

“Leigh as in Ashleigh, yeah?” Tracy asked.

Aila nodded and sat down beside her. “Aye. She introduced herself to us as Leigh.”

Tracy dug around in her pockets for a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. She offered the pack to Aila, who just shook her head.

“No,” she said.

Tracy withdrew a cigarette and stuffed the packet back into her pocket. She lit it up, and took a long, slow drag before continuing.

“Ashleigh's my niece,” she explained.

Aila frowned. “I'm sorry; your _niece?_ _How?_ ”

“My husband's brother's kid.”

“You're married to Spencer Callingham's brother?” Aila asked, trying to make sense of it.

“Aye. The reason I'm in here, is because twelve years ago, I killed a man. That man was a Prolethean,” Tracy began. She knew that Aila was already aware of the Proletheans, since she knew Leigh. “He found out my niece was a clone, and wanted to off her. I killed him before he could get to her. Now...Ashleigh's lookin' after my kid, Gabby...but that's a whole other story best told another time. Point is, this all started with Ashleigh, like I said, and now she's trackin' the lost surrogate Amelia. You 'eard of her?”

Aila froze. “Aye,” she nodded. “A while back, Leigh wondered if she was the mother of the killer clone, Helena.”

  
“Yeah, exactly. Well it's true,” Tracy said. “Helena was one of 'er kids.”

Aila blinked as she processed this. “Wait; _one_? Twins, then?”

“Aye,” Tracy nodded. She took another long drag, and exhaled the smoke. “I know, because I helped Amelia hide. I helped hide her babies...and then I had to hide _you..._ ”

Aila sat in numbed silence as Tracy told her everything. She explained how Janet and Spencer came into contact with DYAD all those years ago when they needed help conceiving a child, and she explained how the Callinghams persuaded DYAD to pay Tracy and Ray to carry and raise a clone too. She explained her reasons for giving up Aila, how Amelia had influenced her decision, how Maggie Chen was involved, and how Leigh was now working to capture Helena.

It was a lot for Aila to take in. She felt far too tired to know how to truly feel about any of this. She was sure Tracy was being honest with her explanations, at least...her account was far too detailed and convincing to be made up...wasn't it?

Instead, for now, Aila just shook her head. “Leigh's dead,” she told Tracy.

Tracy whipped around to stare at her so fast that she pulled a muscle in her neck. She rubbed it absently. “Why would you think _that?_ ” she asked.

Aila shrugged. “DYAD killed her.”

“No they _didn't_ , Aila,” Tracy tried to convince her. “Ashleigh's been in to see me; it's how I know she's hunting for Amelia!”

“It wasn't Leigh,” Aila said blankly. “Just someone who looks like her.”

“I think I'd know my own niece,” Tracy said defensively. “And she really, _really_ wants to see you. Please; just send her a visiting order and see for yourself.”

“It was probably _Rachel_ ,” Aila countered as she tried to process everything. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew how to act just like Leigh. You said you hadn’t seen Leigh in person in a good many years anyway, right?”

“I…” Tracy began, but trailed off. She shook her head then, looking mildly conflicted. “Yeah, you’re right. I _don’t_ have a way to be one-hundred percent sure, but I’d like to think that Gabby would’ve mentioned if it weren’t really Ashleigh, since she _lives_ with ‘er. But that’s all the more reason to go and see her in person yourself, yeah? You _know_ Ashleigh, and ya seem to know Rachel, too. Surely you’d be able to tell if she’s legit.”

Aila frowned, absently bringing a hand up to touch the scar that ran down the side of her face. If it _was_ Rachel who came to visit, Aila wasn’t sure she wanted to see her at all after what happened at the DYAD facility in London.

Suddenly a numbing realisation crossed her mind.

If Leigh and Rachel were born to Spencer, and Aila was born to Spencer’s brother, didn’t that mean that the twins were Aila’s _cousins?_ Did Rachel _know_ that when she’d ordered Daniel to torture her without mercy? Aila felt mildly ill at the thought and hastily shoved it away. She did _not_ want to acknowledge being related to Rachel Duncan in any way.

Tracy watched the clone quietly. “Hailee…”

“ _Don't_ call me that, please,” Aila said quickly. “Not around here, anyway. If Sylvester or any of her minions realise that I really _am_ Hailee, they’ll do everything they can to make my life even more of a living hell.”

Tracy frowned a bit, but said nothing. She wanted to ask more about Aila’s past and upbringing, and about why she ended up in prison, but it was obvious that the clone needed some time to take in everything.

When the sun started to set and the guards started ushering the inmates back inside the prison, Tracy stood and stretched. She looked down at Aila. “We can talk more tomorrow, right?” she asked.

“Sure,” Aila agreed. After hearing everything, Aila felt like she could trust Tracy at least a bit more. It would also be far easier and less exhausting to try to get to know her rather than constantly being nasty towards her.

When the doctor made it back to her bed, she lay down and tried to mentally sort out everything that Tracy had said. She was still wholly convinced that the person Tracy met with was Rachel, or at least another clone. Leigh’s official file said that the hairdresser had been killed by a poison that induced a heart attack. Surely Leekie wouldn’t alter the official record just to trick Aila and Rat...

Aila sighed, closing her eyes. Should she send a visiting order, just to be sure? Even if it was Rachel who appeared, Aila could just walk out of the visit and return to the wing. It would be better to know for sure rather than just assuming…

This was all getting way too complex. She rolled over and looked across the cell. Saffi hadn’t yet reappeared, and Aila was happy to have the extra space. She sat up and looked out the window quietly. The doctor took a deep breath and sighed, before a sudden urge to cough hit her out of nowhere.

“Jesus Christ,” Aila muttered after the coughing fit passed. She blinked, and felt something warm in her palm.

It only took a moment to realise that her hand was streaked with blood.


	20. Chapter 19

“Here is Lucas’s number, as requested.”

Leigh took the piece of paper that Rachel offered her, looking it over. She was again at the DYAD facility, standing across from Rachel’s desk. She nodded at her twin. “Cheers, Rachel.”

Rachel nodded, leaning back in her chair. “You may contact him whenever you see fit, but he may not always be reachable. He is extremely busy with his work.”

“Right…” Leigh muttered, again wondering what DYAD was making Lucas do for them, but she supposed she could ask him herself after getting the information she needed about Maggie Chen and Amelia.

“Please call me after you speak with him. I will be quite interested in hearing what he has to say,” Rachel told her evenly.

“I will if he gives me a lead to follow,” Leigh said, eager to get back in touch with Lucas again. It saddened her that the German man was still under DYAD’s control after how much he helped them all. It was because of him that Aila was still alive.

The hairdresser turned and left the office without another word, debating if she wanted to use her own phone or Gabby’s phone to contact Lucas. If she used her own phone, she couldn’t mention the other clones at all, but if she used Gabby’s phone, there was a chance of DYAD getting hold of that number. They could start monitoring Leigh's calls from Gabby's phone.

Either way, Leigh knew she had to call Lucas sooner rather than later. She hoped he could give her at least a little bit of a lead towards where to go next. She wanted to find Amelia as soon as possible, so that she could properly focus on getting back in touch with Aila somehow.

Leigh hoped Leekie would leave Tracy alone as well. Since talking with the aged man, Leigh had a feeling that even if Lucas did point her in the right direction, Leekie might still try to threaten Tracy for some reason. She didn’t honestly believe he would get Tracy out of prison…even though Gabby would be ecstatic if that did happen.

When Leigh returned to her house, she flopped on the sofa and considered her options. It would be better to get the phonecall out of the way while the house was empty. Grabbing Gabby’s phone, Leigh dialled the number that Rachel had given her. After several rings, Leigh wondered if Lucas wouldn’t answer…but then the German man picked up the phone.

“Hallo?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“Lucas, it’s Leigh,” Leigh told him with a smile. It was nice to hear Lucas’s voice again, even if he was whispering for some reason. “Is this a bad time?”

“Leigh...” Lucas breathed. “Leigh Callingham? Ashleigh Callingham?” He was almost tempted to ask if it really _was_ Leigh, but he thought better of it. Rachel might be monitoring the call, and Leigh wasn't supposed to know she was thought to be dead.

“Yeah, it's me,” Leigh confirmed. “Lucas, it's good to hear from you.”

“Ja...you too. You do not know how much,” Lucas muttered.

A strange pause followed.

“Is everything OK?” Leigh asked.

“Ja; ja, it is all good,” Lucas rushed. “Vat is zee purpose of zis call?”

Leigh braced herself, deciding to get straight to the point. There was no point in wasting time. “I need to ask you something about Maggie Chen,” she explained. “I'm...we're trying to locate somebody she helped to hide around twenty-eight years ago. You were working with her then, right? When you gave up the triplets to protect them from the Proletheans.”

“Ja,” Lucas said. “By 'we're', you mean DYAD? You are vorking _vith_ DYAD now?” Lucas already knew what Leigh was up to, having been informed by Rachel, but he found himself wanting to hear it from Leigh. It was surreal and downright crazy that Leigh of all people would team up with DYAD, considering she was the one to start the war with them.

“Yeah...I know how bad it sounds, believe me,” Leigh muttered. She steeled herself up then. “But we do what we have to do, right? You have your reasons for doing their dirty work, and I have mine.”

Lucas paused and swallowed hard, trying ignore his increasing feelings of guilt. Leigh didn't know how right she was. “Vat do you need?”

“Have you ever heard of a woman named Amelia?” Leigh asked him. “She was a surrogate. She was Helena's birth mother.”

“Helena's birth mother...” Lucas repeated. “Ja...she gave birth to Helena in Wales, and zen Maggie took Helena to Ukraine; to zee convent vere she grew up. Helena vas kidnapped by zee Proletheans years later ven Maggie turned on us.”

“Yeah, I know that already,” Leigh said with a nod. “Well...not the bit about Wales...”

“Ja, it vas vere Amelia ran to give birth and arrange to hide zee baby.”

“Babies,” Leigh corrected him. “Turns out Helena had a twin. Amelia hid her elsewhere, though.”

“A twin? Interesting...Helena vas zee only von I vas avare of.”

“Right,” Leigh said. “Carry on.”

“Before Maggie turned on us, she said zat Helena came from a voman named Amelia, who zen vent to start a new life in Ireland.”

“Limerick?”

“Ja, Limerick,” Lucas said. “But she did not _go_ as Amelia. She vent under a false name – Emily Ormand, if my memory is correct.”

Leigh shot up and scrambled around for her journal and a pen. “Emily Ormand?” she repeated as she scribbled down the name. “Emily Ormand...”

“Maggie said zat Amelia vas hiding from something, and zee name change vas for her protection. I did not know Helena vas a _clone_ vhen Maggie vent to hide her. I do not know now how I failed to realise zat vas _vhy_ Amelia did all of zis. Vhy she changed her name and hid. Zat she vas hiding from DYAD; from _Leekie._ Vhy she gave up her daughters, just as I gave up mine.”

“Yeah...” Leigh murmured. “Giving up daughters seems to have happened a _lot_ when it comes to this clone bullshit.”

Lucas frowned to himself on the other end of the phone, scratching his head. “Amelia vill not be in danger, vill she?”

Leigh blinked. “Bit late to be worrying about that after you've given me this info, isn't it?” she asked. “The whole point of this is to stop Helena and the Proletheans, and find Helena's twin. Maybe we can stop Helena without going to Amelia, but the lost twin needs to be found. That's all DYAD wants. I don't think they're out to punish Amelia.”

“ _Really?_ ” Lucas asked before he could stop himself. “Amelia hid her babies to protect zem from DYAD. Dragging zem back now vill mean it vas all for nozing.”

“Yeah, well _I_ did a lot worse than Amelia did by making everyone self-aware and starting this shit storm, and _I'm_ still alive and kicking,” Leigh said hotly. “DYAD won't blame Amelia for having doubts.”

A horrible silence followed. Leigh took a moment to consider her own words, stunned they'd even come out of her mouth. What was she _thinking?_ Why was she rationlising DYAD's intentions? Was she simply hoping she could persuade Leekie not to harm Amelia? There _was_ no reason to harm her, after all. All they wanted was to find Helena's twin...but then, would harm come to _her?_ Would DYAD screw her over, like they had every other clone?

“You are playing a _very_ dangerous game, Leigh,” Lucas warned her seriously.

“And you're _not?_ ” Leigh retaliated. “If you were really bothered about staying loyal to Amelia, you wouldn't have told me _any_ of this, which tells me something doesn't add up.”

Leigh stopped talking. She found herself wondering what kind of work DYAD had Lucas doing again, and what kind of hold they had over him this time.

“Are you gonna be all right, Lucas?” she asked then, her tone of voice shifting completely. “I mean...you knew all along about Amelia's false name and location. If Leekie finds out...”

“Zere vill be no consequences for it,” Lucas said firmly. “I did not know Helena vas a _clone,_ as I already said. Leekie already knew zat vhen I spied on zee Proletheans all zose years ago. Zere vas no vay I could have known zat Amelia vas involved wiz DYAD, and zat she vas keeping Helena from Leekie. Zere vas no vay I could have known zat Leekie vas looking for her; for _eizer_ of zee twins.”

“If you say so,” Leigh grumbled.

“Bit late to be vorrying about me, ven I have already given you zis information,” Lucas shot at her, sounding rather sarcastic now. “If you are so _sure_ zat Amelia vill be safe from Leekie, you should _not_ be so vorried about _me._ ”

Leigh fell silent for a moment, looking over her notes. She couldn’t help but worry about Lucas, after everything he had done to protect them all, but how could she say that when she already admitted to working with DYAD to find Amelia and the other set of twins? Leekie already knew that whatever new information Leigh gained would have come from Lucas, and what Leekie would do in response was entirely out of Leigh’s control.

“Thanks, Lucas…” the hairdresser said quietly.

“Is zis all you vere vanting to know?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah,” Leigh said.

“OK,” Lucas mumbled. “If zis is all zen I vill go now.”

“Yeah…thanks again Lucas,” Leigh told him.

The call ended.

Leigh snapped Gabby’s phone shut and set it aside. She looked through her journal quietly, thinking of what the next step should be. At least now she had a name and a town to begin the search. Now she just needed to hope that Amelia was still in that town with that name.

\--

When Lucas returned to the hotel room he and the clones were staying in, he was painfully aware of Danielle’s eyes on him. The French clone sat up on one of the beds with Rat’s laptop, reading through more mythology relating to Leda and Castor.

Beside her, Rat was lying down, fast asleep. The Swiss clone had stayed awake most of the previous night working on finding out more information, and had dosed off in the early morning.

“Anozer phone call wiz your workmates?” Danielle asked lowly.

“Ja…vhy is zis a problem?” Lucas asked as he sat down at his usual place beside the window.

Danielle didn’t answer, but frowned subtly. She couldn’t help being suspicious of Lucas as of late, after overhearing his last phone call. Danielle didn’t know for sure if it was just the paranoia of being on the run that was getting to her, but she couldn’t help feeling like Lucas was hiding something from her and Rat.

Lucas looked out the window quietly, turning away from the clones so they couldn’t see his face. Disgust, self-loathing, and guilt were weighing heavily on him for keeping so many secrets.

He knew full well that if the other clones knew he’d spoken to Leigh, they’d never trust him again. It made him a bit paranoid as well that Danielle was starting to notice the signs. What would happen if she overheard him talking to Leigh again? Or worse, Rachel?

Sighing heavily, Lucas reminded himself that everything he was doing was to keep the two clones safe. He couldn’t back out of it now, even if he wanted to.

The room lapsed into a heavy silence.

After some time, Rat began to stir. The Swiss clone stretched, and slowly sat up, eyeing the clock. “Jesus…didn’t mean to sleep that long…” she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Danielle giggled a bit. “You needed it, clearly,” she said, deciding to keep her suspicions about Lucas to herself for now.

Rat ran a hand through her hair as she tried to wake up. “Any word from Aila yet?”

“Non,” Danielle told her with a shake of her head. “I ‘ave been keeping an eye on your phone just in case.”

“Damn…” Rat muttered. She was eager to get in touch with the Scottish clone so that the three of them could visit her. “I wish there was a way we could call _her_ instead. She doesn’t even know that we’re back in Scotland.”

Danielle nodded, understanding Rat’s frustration. “I am sure she will call soon enough.”

As it turned out, Aila did call that very afternoon. She was pleased to hear they were back in Scotland, and had to admit she was quite excited to see them. When the day for the visit arrived, Aila decided to hold off on revealing that she'd started coughing up blood. The revelation of Castor, and updating Rat about her situation with Tracy felt more important in that moment...as well as the fact Aila suspected Rachel of pretending to be Leigh.

Rat was stunned, but she didn't know why Rachel would want to fake being Leigh in order to contact Aila. DYAD already knew she was in prison...the only thing Rat could think of was that DYAD hoped to learn of Rat's location by getting Aila to spill information to someone she trusted – meaning Leigh.

“Just be careful and avoid telling her anything if she calls again,” Rat warned Aila.

“I intend to be careful; I've been nothing _but_ careful about _everything_ since I ended up in here,” Aila told her.

It was nice to have a good catch up with Rat and Danielle though. The fact Aila was showing the same symptoms as Katja was worrying, but while she was in prison, she couldn't do anything about it. There was no hope of a cure anyway, until Katja got back in touch and announced whether Beth's scientist friend had been able to help, so focusing on it would be pointless.

Telling Rat and making her worry about Aila even more would be pointless. At least for the moment, Aila told herself. She would tell Rat as soon as they heard from Katja.

' _As if there are friggin' BOY clones though,_ ' Aila thought to herself that night after the visit. She was lying in her cell, staring at the ceiling as she let recent events make sense of themselves in her head. With Morgan off the wing recovering from her fit, and Tracy feeling like someone Aila could trust better now, this place felt temporarily easier to deal with.

It was nice to not have to stress so much...for now.

\--

“The fuck are you doin' with my phone now?” Gabby demanded one morning.

Leigh, who was staring absently at the phone after a call from Tracy, looked around at Gabby. “Huh? Oh, your mum just called, but you missed it. I was seeing if she left a voice mail.” Truthfully, Tracy had called to assure Leigh she and Aila were on relatively good terms, and that Aila might be sending her a visiting order, but Leigh couldn't tell Gabby that.

Gabby glared. “But why do you gotta go checkin' my voice mail?” she asked. She reached forward and snatched the phone from Leigh. “It's _my_ phone!”

“Yeah, well you keep opening my mail, so drop it with the 'invasion of privacy' bullshit,” Leigh retorted.

“I only opened your mail _one time!_ And that was when Mum sent a visitin' order, so really it was meant for me anyway!”

Leigh sighed. She wanted to argue, but Gabby was right, and really Leigh knew she shouldn't be using her phone at all. “I'm sorry, all right?”

“You said that before though,” Gabby tormented.

“Well I _am,_ and I won't do it again? OK, Mother?” Leigh teased, ruffling Gabby's hair.

Gabby smacked her hand away with a grumble. “So did she leave a voice mail or not?”

“Your mum? No,” Leigh said.

Gabby stared at the phone and then shoved it into her blazer pocket.

Leigh blinked. “You're _not_ taking your phone to school with you, right?”

“What's it to _you?_ ” Gabby asked. She picked up her school bag and slung it onto her shoulder. “I'm goin' to hang out at Ian's after school.”

A wide, evil grin flashed on Leigh's face. “Ian's huh?”

Gabby shoved her again, and stormed towards the front door, every bit like a diva. “Shut your gob. But I _need_ my phone so I can order ya to come pick me up when I'm done,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I'm sure,” Leigh said, rolling her eyes. “Be good, you.”

“I will if you will,” Gabby shot. She left the house to go to school.

Leigh could only laugh.

\--

After the school day ended, Gabby made her way out to the front parking lot of the school. Ian said that he’d meet her here, and that his mother would bring them over to his house. Gabby couldn’t help but smile a bit, thinking what an odd teenager Ian was. Most boys his age didn’t want to be caught dead with their mothers.

It didn’t take long to spot the older boy out in the parking lot. He was excitedly chatting to a much older woman with long reddish-gray hair and glasses. Gabby could only assume that this was his mother. She made her way over to them, and put on an awkward smile. “Hey.”

“Oh, hi Gabby! Sorry, I didn’t see you,” Ian said brightly with a wide smile. He then looked up at the older woman. “This is my friend Gabby, Mom.”

The woman smiled warmly at Gabby. “Nice to meet you, Gabby. You can call me Eliza.”

“Nice to meet ya too, ma’m,” Gabby said, trying to be at least somewhat polite.

Eliza chuckled softly, looking between the two. “Right, if you two have everything, then let’s get going. Gabby, do you have a ride home arranged for later?”

“Yeah, I’ll give my cousin a call when I’m about to leave,” Gabby told her, climbing into the back seat of the car.

The drive to the house was filled with chatter about school and sports teams. Gabby was intrigued to learn that Ian was currently on the school’s football team. She didn’t have much interest in sports, but it was funny to see how enthusiastic Ian became while telling Eliza about it.

Ian’s house turned out to be a large wooden house on the outskirts of London. There were many trees around the area, which were only just coming back into green now that spring had set in. Ian eagerly led Gabby inside, dropping his bag off by the door as he did.

The two dogs Gabby had seen when they first met came wandering over to greet Ian and look up at Gabby curiously. Bianca yipped excitedly and ran around Gabby, while Charles simply walked over to her and sat down. Gabby smiled and petted his head gently. The old Borzoi closed his eyes happily, his tail wagging back and forth.

Ian laughed at Bianca’s antics. “She really seems to like running circles around you.”

“Yeah,” Gabby agreed with a grin. She knelt down in front of Bianca when the hyper dog stopped running around, running a hand through her fur. “Jeeze, she’s a right fluff ball, ain't she?”

“Yeah, she is,” Ian said, amused. “She’s a Chow Chow. Probably one of the fluffiest dogs in the world.”

The two teenagers spent the following few hours hanging out and chatting about various subjects, while watching TV and playing video games. Gabby was soon introduced to Ian’s father, Neal. Eliza and Neal were always reasonably close by, but they gave the teenages their space and privacy for the most part.

After some time, Gabby’s cell phone rang. She looked down at it curiously, before answering it. She didn’t recognise the number, but maybe it was Shaun, or Leigh calling from another phone. “Hello?”

“Um…is zis Katja?” the voice on the other end of the line asked, speaking in a soft French accent.

Gabby frowned in confusion. The voice sounded almost like Leigh’s. “Um…no, sorry miss, wrong number,” she told her, before clicking the phone off. “That was weird.”

“Who was it?” Ian asked.

“Dunno, some French chick asking about someone called Katja,” Gabby said with a shrug.

Eliza, who had been picking up a magazine from her chair on the other side of the room, froze and blinked slowly. Katja? Katja was Regina’s sister, wasn’t she? Eliza frowned subtly, but said nothing. It was entirely possible that it was just an odd coincidence and someone really did just get a wrong number.

Eliza looked over at Ian and Gabby then, who had resumed their chatting. “Would you like to stay for dinner, Gabby?”

Gabby looked over at Eliza, hesitating a bit. Should she say yes? Would it be rude to? Or would it be rude not to? She hadn’t been over to somebody’s house in a good many years, so the proper way to react was lost on her. “Um…i-if ya don’t mind? I don’t wanna be a bother or nothin’.”

Eliza chuckled, reluctantly amused by the young girl’s response. “It’s no bother at all,” she assured her.

Gabby smiled a bit. “Sure, cheers Mrs. Colbert.”

“Please dear, call me Eliza,” the older woman said, before vanishing into the kitchen.

“Wow, your mom’s really nice, ain’t she?” Gabby commented after a minute. She wasn’t used to being treated so well by other people’s families.

“Yeah, she’s great,” Ian agreed with a grin. “You don't have to be so nervous. My folks wouldn't have said yes when I asked about you coming here if it was gonna be a bother.”

Gabby squirmed uncomfortably, but nodded. “Aye, I know. I just never used to do stuff like this back in Scotland. I didn't have no friends or nothin'...and my parents weren't never really around.”

“They weren't?”

Gabby shrugged. She was hesitant about telling Ian too much, in case he judged or thought badly of her. It was usual, after all, for other school children to be insulting towards her because of her family's situation.

“My mum weren't ever around, really,” she explained. “Grew up without 'er, more or less, and never got to see her much. Dad...it's complicated with Dad,” she shrugged again. “We never got on much. That's why I'm stayin' with my cousin. She's ace.”

Ian nodded. He'd known for a while that Gabby left home and ended up living with her cousin, and although he didn't know details, it sounded like this cousin had really done a lot for her. “She sounds it,” he agreed.

Gabby grinned. “Aye, but she ain't allowed to know that, so if you ever meet 'er, don't go sayin' nothin'.”

Ian laughed a bit, inwardly looking forward to spending more time with Gabby in the future.

Suddenly Gabby’s phone went off again, and the young girl frowned subtly. It was the same number as before. “It’s that weird French chick again, I think…” she said, unsure of if she should really answer it again or not.

“Maybe you can block the number if she keeps calling by accident?” Ian suggested with a shrug.

“Maybe...” Gabby agreed. She answered the call anyway. “What do you want?” she snapped.

“Katja?” the same female voice asked.

Gabby blinked. “No, this _ain't_ Katja; wrong number again! Quit callin'!”

“Well who _are_ you zen?” the French woman demanded, sounding extremely childish and frustrated suddenly.

“Gabby,” Gabby told her. “Who the hell are _you?_ ”

The woman didn't answer. A sudden realisation hit Gabby then. Leigh had been using her phone many times; Gabby was well aware of it. Did this have something to do with Janet and Spencer? Did this mysterious French woman know where they were? Did this so-called Katja?

“Do you know my cousin?” Gabby asked then.

“Your cousin? Who is your cousin? Do you know Lucas Weiss?”

“Huh?” Gabby asked.

“Is Katja your cousin?!”

“What? _What?_ No; _Ashleigh_ is my cousin! Who _are_ you? I know you been speakin' to her, so what gives? Does she know where her folks are?”

Back in Scotland, Danielle froze in a blind panic as Gabby's words hit her. She ended the call from Lucas's phone, and stared hard into space, completely shocked and confused.


	21. Chapter 20

Danielle gripped the phone tightly in her hand. Rat had gone out to a local store for a short while, which had given Danielle the chance to plot. She'd crept into Lucas's room while he was in the shower and swiped it, still entirely convinced something wasn't right. She'd then taken it back to her own room to investigate. She'd been so sure Lucas was in contact with Katja, but whoever this Gabby was, she didn't sound like she knew anything. In fact, she sounded very young, Danielle thought.

And she claimed to be Ashleigh's cousin. Ashleigh _who_ though?

Just _what_ was going on here? Danielle stared down at the phone and scrolled through the call history rapidly. There were other numbers in here as well; perhaps one of _those_ would lead to Katja.

Danielle heard the shower switch off from the bathroom, and her heart hammered. She wouldn't have time to call these other numbers too; not now at least. Instead, the skater hopped up from her bed, and darted down the hall to Lucas's room. She debated ditching the phone and fleeing again, but a powerful wave of instinct and determination stopped Danielle dead in her tracks.

A few minutes later, Lucas opened his bedroom door, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and gave an uncharacteristic shriek of alarm to see Danielle standing before him.

“ _DANIELLE?!_ ” he boomed fearfully. “Vat zee fack?!”

Danielle's face remained unimpressed and blank. She simply held up Lucas's phone, and raised her eyebrows. “Who is Gabby, Lucas?” she asked coolly.

Lucas gaped at her as if she'd lost her mind. He gripped his towel tightly, making sure he was appropriately covered. “Vat is zee meaning of _zis?!_ ”

“You know what zee meaning of zis is; do not play dumb,” Danielle hissed. She took a threatening step towards him. “I _know_ you 'ave been contacting Katja. I 'ave spoken to Gabby just now.”

Lucas shook his head helplessly, backing himself up against the wall as Danielle drew nearer. “Who is _Gabby?!_ ”

“Oh no, I am asking _you_ zat question, Lucas,” Danielle told him. “She said she is cousins with Ashleigh. She means Ashleigh Callingham, oui? Leigh?”

Lucas became rigid, and he felt entirely sick.

“Does she mean _Rachel Duncan?_ ” Danielle demanded then. “Was Aila _right?_ Is Rachel faking being Leigh? How is zis...zis Gabby involved, and how is Katja?! And why are _you_ keeping all zese secrets from me and Ratty?!”

“I am _not!_ ” Lucas wailed. “Danielle, please; I must put some _clothes_ on-”

“No,” Danielle snapped. “You need to explain what is going on!”

“I do not _know_ of any Gabby, and I am not involved wiz Katja!”

“Zen why was Gabby on zee end of zis number?”

Lucas just shook his head again. He was entirely lost now. As angry as he was about Danielle taking his phone without consent, he couldn't blame her for being suspicious, and for wanting to make sure she and Rat were safe.

Danielle narrowed her eyes. “I know you genuinely care for Ratty, Lucas, but _zis_ is insanity. You are _lying_ about somezing, and I will find out what!”

Just then, a door elsewhere in the building sounded open, followed by Rat's voice.

“Danielle! Lucas! I'm back!”

“Danielle, _give me zee phone,_ ” Lucas begged. He lunged forward to take it, but Danielle backed away and shoved the phone down her top and into her bra so Lucas wouldn't dare take it.

Lucas just froze, more shocked than ever. Danielle didn't seem to care about her actions in the slightest.

“You will not get zis back until you tell me zee truth,” she said matter-of-factly. “I will not scare Ratty wiz anyzing until zen; until I know you mean _well._ I will 'old onto zee phone until you explain.”

Danielle strutted out of the room to greet Rat, leaving Lucas completely horrified for more reasons than one.

\--

Leigh was flopped across her sofa, absently flipping through channels. It was extremely quiet in the house without Gabby around. Shaun sat on the other side of the room. If he wasn’t breathing, one could easily mistake him for a statue due to how still and silent he was.

Leigh stretched and glanced over at him quietly. Her conversation with Gabby weighed heavily on her mind. She hated to acknowledge it, but Gabby was right. Leigh _didn’t_ know anything about Shaun, even though he’d been her monitor for a few months now. Maybe rather than always seeing the DYAD minion in him, she should try to see the _person_ in him?

“Why are you staring again?” Shaun grunted.

Leigh blinked, frowning a bit. “Just thinking.”

“Dare I ask what about?” Shaun asked dryly.

Leigh bit her lip and sat up to look at him properly. “I was wondering what happened to your wife,” she said honestly.

Shaun blinked, a pained look crossing his face for a moment, before he looked down at the ground. “Why?”

Leigh sighed a bit. “Look, I’m sorry for how nasty I’ve been with you. Gabby seems to think you’re OK though, so…I dunno, maybe we could start over and try to get to know each other a bit? I mean, you’re probably going to be my monitor for a while yet, so…” she trailed off and shrugged awkwardly. “Did you do anything before getting involved with DYAD?”

Shaun stared at her for a long moment, before apparently realising that she was serious. He gave a heavy sigh, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “I was a ceramics designer for most of my life…” he explained. “My dad had a popular shop that sold ceramics products of all sorts, and I just grew up doing it, I suppose.”

“Really?” Leigh asked, surprised. “That sounds interesting.”

Shaun shrugged. “It was what it was. The money was good, and I was able to make a few people happy, so…”

Leigh nodded quietly. She wondered how a ceramics designer ever got involved with DYAD. As if reading her mind, Shaun spoke again lowly. “Lauren…she was a scientist. Easily the most brilliant and kind-hearted woman I’d ever met…why she gave someone like me the time of day was anyone’s guess, but I suppose that’s just fate,” he said.

Leigh blinked slowly. “A DYAD scientist?” she asked, making sure to keep her voice calm and non-accusing.

Shaun nodded once. “Yes…she’d been working for them for years by the time I met her. I never even heard of the place until she told me about them, and about the work they do.”

“She told you about clones?” Leigh asked, finding that she was very interested to hear this.

“Yes,” Shaun nodded. “Didn’t tell me much of the specifics, but just kind of gave a general overview of what was going on. At first I wasn’t sure if I believed her…I mean, I’d heard of cloned sheep, but cloned _humans_ from nearly _thirty years_ prior? Truth be told, I didn’t fully realise that it was true until I met you and your sister.”

“Yeah…it’s a lot for anyone to take in,” Leigh agreed. “I was always shit scared of meeting other clones because I wasn’t sure how they’d react to the news.”

Shaun nodded. “Indeed…Lauren was always so passionate about her work though that I pretty much just nodded along with whatever she said, even if I didn’t really understand it a lot of the time,” he said, a small chuckle escaping him.

Leigh smirked a bit at the mental image. She could easily relate, as she herself often zoned out whenever Rachel or Leekie started talking about in-depth science stuff. It was impossible to miss the way Shaun’s eyes grew soft and warm at the various memories he was talking about, and Leigh felt extremely bad for treating him like a slave for the past several months. Gabby was right; Shaun wasn’t a bad person. He was just lonely and sad.

Shaun sighed heavily then, the light slowly dying from his eyes. “One day, the facility was attacked by these religious extremists who thought they were doing the right thing by destroying everything relating to science…Lauren…s-she got caught in the crossfire,” he reluctantly said, before trailing off and closing his eyes tightly. It was obvious that talking about this was upsetting him, even as he tried to fight off the swell of emotions.

Leigh watched him intently. “The Proletheans,” she stated.

Shaun nodded. “Yes. Doctor Leekie approached me after Lauren's death. We both knew these Proleatheans would never stop, and it seemed likely they might target families of those working for DYAD.”

Leigh nodded. “Yeah, that's true,” she said. She remembered Tracy saying the Proleatheans went as far as to threaten Gabby and Jake's safety because of Tracy's involvement.

“So DYAD offered me protection. Adam and I were relocated to a safe house where the Proleatheans would have little luck finding us. In return, I gave my services to DYAD for various causes, until I met you.”

“And that's how you became a monitor,” Leigh said.

“I did what was necessary to keep my son safe,” Shaun told her.

Leigh fell quiet. Nobody had forced Shaun to turn monitor and stick with DYAD; it had very much been his own choice, but Leigh completely understood why he was doing it. In this instance, Leekie had done a good thing by promising to keep Shaun and Adam protected. It was just a shame Shaun didn't understand just how unethical and dangerous involving himself with clones could be. Leigh realised then that Shaun didn't know much at _all_ about any of it.

“I guess you don't get to see him often though, huh?” Leigh asked then.

“Adam? He's six, so he's at school all day. At times finding babysitters is a struggle when I am required to monitor you outside of school hours. He stays with his grandparents a lot, but they're not always available...but we get by.”

Leigh looked back up at Shaun, considering her next words carefully. “You should bring him here. Gabby already said she loves him, and I bet she'd like to see him again.”

Shaun stared at Leigh as if she was crazy. “Are you serious?”

“Well why not? You'd get to see him more often. It's not right you don't get much time with your kid because you're made to watch a freak like _me._ Especially when...when I've been such a bitch,” Leigh mumbled.

Shaun, despite everything, managed a very small smirk. “Well stop being a bitch, and I shall think about it.”

Leigh couldn't help herself and laughed loudly. “I'm sorry; was that banter I heard?”

Shaun just smiled. It was an odd sight to see. “In all honesty, I am not sure I want to bring my child into all of this – no offence intended. I'm not saying 'no'; I would just like to think about it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Leigh said. “I still wish I could keep Gabby far away from all of this. The _last_ thing I want is for her to get involved.”

\--

“Who the _fuck_ is Katja?” Gabby complained. “And Lucas?”

“You said this French girl said his surname too? Right?” Ian asked.

The teenagers were waiting in the hallway at Ian's house. Gabby had contacted Leigh to come and pick her up, and now they were waiting for Leigh to arrive, but the strange phone call was still playing on Gabby's mind.

“Aye, Lucas Weiss, or somethin'?”

Ian's mouth fell open. “Lucas Weiss? Lucas Weiss...I swear I know that name...”

Gabby stared. “Ya do?”

“I dunno; it seems familiar for some reason...I could be wrong; I might just be confusing it with something else,” Ian shrugged. “Look, just ask your cousin about it; she's obviously been using your phone for something.”

“Yeah,” Gabby growled. “And I'm gonna find out _what_.”

It wasn’t long until they heard a car pull up. Gabby glanced at Ian. “Um…thanks for havin’ me over. It were proper fun,” she told him quickly, before leaving the house.

Ian smiled, waving goodbye to her before closing the door. From inside the car, Leigh couldn’t help but grin widely at the two, highly amused. She glanced over at Gabby when the young girl got into the passenger seat. “Have fun?” she teased, waiting until Gabby had her seatbelt on before backing out of the driveway.

Gabby looked up at Leigh suspiciously, frowning a bit. “Oi, who’s Katja? And Lucas Weiss?”

Leigh’s eyebrows shot up in stunned shock. Where on earth did Gabby hear about Lucas and Katja?! “W-what?” she asked, trying to play it cool and focus on driving.

Gabby’s frown deepened. She hadn’t missed the surprise on her cousin’s face. “Some weird French chick kept calling me earlier and kept asking if I was Katja, and then asked if I knew Lucas Weiss. I keep seein’ ya hangin’ ‘round my phone, so have ya been usin’ it to call that woman?”

Leigh struggled to think of an explanation as her mind started racing a bit. She’d only ever used Gabby’s phone to contact Lucas, Tracy, and Aila.

Who was this ‘weird French chick’ that Gabby had mentioned? The only French woman Leigh had ever known in her life was Danielle…but that didn’t make sense. It was impossible for Danielle to be with Aila and Tracy, and if Lucas was doing DYAD’s work currently, then she shouldn’t be with him either.

“Do you have the number in your call logs?” Leigh found herself asking.

Gabby looked severely unimpressed at Leigh’s lack of denial. “So ya HAVE been usin' my phone?!”

“No, I _haven’t,_ ” Leigh said quickly, backtracking. “It was probably a wrong number. I can block it for you, if you’d like?”

“You’re proper shit at lyin’,” Gabby muttered, crossing her arms, slumping in her seat a bit. “You’re _not_ havin’ my friggin' phone to make weird calls to weird French people. Go use your own phone for that!”

“Gabby, I haven’t used your phone to call _any_ French people,” Leigh snapped. That much _was_ true, at least. “Why do you think I had anything to do with it in the first place?! Did this woman mention _me_ in any way?”

Gabby thought it over. She knew that Leigh had a point. Whoever kept calling her hadn’t mentioned Leigh by name, and Gabby had just assumed that Leigh was connected because the hairdresser kept getting caught with Gabby’s phone…but what proof did she have to say that it _wasn’t_ a random wrong number?

“Well?” Leigh snapped when Gabby didn’t respond.

“No, she didn’t mention you,” Gabby muttered. “But I _know_ you’re up to somethin’, Ashleigh. Your _face_ when I asked ‘bout Katja and Lucas said that much.”

“Gabby, I’m not up to anything,” Leigh sighed as she pulled into her own driveway. “Why would you even _say_ that?”

Gabby grumbled a bit as she got out of the car. “You’re _not_ havin’ my phone, in any case,” she told her pointedly. “I’ll keep it on me from now on.” With that, Gabby turned on her heel and went inside the house.

Leigh muttered to herself and kicked at her car’s front tire out of frustration. This was just great. What if Tracy called again? Or Lucas? Leigh still wanted to know what the number of the woman who called Gabby was. Could it really have been Danielle? Or was it someone else entirely? If it was someone else, how would they know about Katja and Lucas?

“Fuck’s _sake_ ,” Leigh sighed. She’d have to get that number off of Gabby’s phone somehow, without alerting the young girl to it. Leigh knew that she’d also have to somehow get hold of a new cell phone that DYAD was not aware of, and give Tracy the new number.

\--

“On your feet, Wilks,” Officer Howard said firmly, looking down at Tracy. “You have a visitor.”

Tracy looked up at Howard in surprise. She had been in the library reading something. “I didn’t send out no visitin' orders,” she said, but she knew what this meant. This meant Leekie was here.

Aila looked between Tracy and Howard warily. She didn’t know about Leekie’s visit, or that it was even possible to visit someone without an order.

Howard looked unimpressed. “Well someone’s here to see you regardless, so let's go.”

Tracy sighed a bit, inwardly steeling herself up as much as possible. “See ya in a bit, I guess,” she said to Aila, before following Howard.

As they passed through the corridors, Tracy noticed another officer heading towards them, and it only took a moment to see Morgan and Saffi following along behind him. Tracy didn’t miss the evil smirk that the clone shot at her as they passed by each other.

_'Wonderful; Leekie’s here and the psycho clone’s back on the wing_ …' Tracy thought. She wasn’t sure which one was the lesser of two evils.

Howard led her to one of the private visiting rooms that consisted of only one desk with two chairs. Leekie was already there, smiling in his annoyingly happy way when he saw Tracy. Howard's gaze lingered on Leekie for a split second, but then she looked away and instructed Tracy to sit.

“One hour,” Howard stated. Leekie gave her a subtle nod, and Howard back off and closed the door.

Tracy stared at Leekie calmly, leaning back in her chair. “Dr. Leekie. Long time no see. Didn’t you used to have hair?”

Leekie looked momentarily insulted, but then he smiled widely. “Well that indicates just how long it's been since we saw one another.”

“What do you _want?_ ” Tracy snapped.

Leekie's smile faltered again. It seemed he was eager to get straight to the point, just as Tracy was. “I want to make a deal,” he said seriously. “You know what brings me here, I'm sure.”

“Aye,” Tracy nodded, eyes wide as she glared at Leekie. “You're huntin' for Amelia.”

“And we still require further co-operation from you,” Leekie explained. “I can get you out of this prison. Reunite you with your daughter.”

Tracy's eyes narrowed. “ _How?_ I appealed recently, and I _lost._ It was made quite clear I ain't goin' nowhere.”

Leekie grinned a bit. “Please,” he insisted. “I think you _know_ anything is possible.”

“And why should I trust a word that comes out of your mouth?” Tracy demanded.

“What have you got to _lose?_ ” Leekie dared her.

Tracy fell silent. She didn't particularly want to part with Aila now, but that wasn't a strong enough reason to consent to staying in _prison_ for the rest of her days. Maybe, from on the outside, Tracy could find a way to help Aila better.

And she really did want to be with Gabby and Jake again.

“ _If_ I were to help you,” Tracy began, “and I mean _if_...I hope you ain't expectin' me to talk until I'm _actually_ out of this shithole.”

Leekie merely observed her. He thought Tracy was arrogant and had little right to make such demands when she was the reason Amelia and her twin daughters had vanished in the first place. However, he also knew locating all three was a much, much bigger priority than punishing Tracy even further.

“Naturally,” he spoke with a soft grin. “I'll allow you time to consider your options. I trust twenty-four hours will be sufficient?”

“Aye, whatever,” Tracy spat.

Leekie nodded and stood. He took a small card from his pocket at passed it to Tracy. “My number,” he explained. It was a business card printed with the official DYAD logo, and Leekie's contact details.

Tracy silently took it, and Leekie left the visiting room with a cold smirk.

\--

Rat, Lucas and Danielle sat around a table in their hotel room that evening as they ate dinner. They were all oddly silent, and Rat was well aware of a strange tension in the room.

Lucas barely looked up as he ate. His mind had been racing hard for the past few days to think of what to say to Danielle. Explaining that Leigh was alive was _not_ an option.

Rachel had already warned him that doing so would end in dire consequences.

And Danielle couldn't help shooting dark glances in Lucas's direction. It made Rat uneasy.

“Out with it,” she snapped at them.

“Huh?” Danielle asked innocently.

“The hell's the matter with you two? Why've you both been in a crap mood all day?” Rat demanded.

“Headaches,” Lucas said gruffly.

Danielle shrugged. “I am not in a crap mood,” she assured Rat.

“You're _always_ in some kind of mood,” Rat attempted to joke, but Danielle, as if proving Rat's point, rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed.

“Excuse me,” she muttered anxiously. She stood from the table and made her way to her bedroom. Lucas and Rat eyed her suspiciously.

“Do you think she's struggling?” Rat asked Lucas. “Cravings or something?”

“I do not know,” Lucas shrugged. “Possibly.”

“Yeah, she's bound to have down days still,” Rat muttered. “Maybe I should go see if I can help her...”

Lucas shook his head. “ _Leave_ her, Regina,” he said sharply. Rat blinked, slightly taken aback by the unusual abruptness in his voice. “You know her space is important to her. She vill be fine.”

Rat remained silent, but watched Lucas carefully as they continued their meal.

Meanwhile, Danielle gently closed her bedroom door, and sat down on her bed. She took out Lucas's phone, which she'd moved into the pocket of her jeans. Danielle had been waiting for a chance all day to investigate the other numbers Lucas had called, but it had been quite hard with Rat and Lucas constantly present. Doing so while they were in the other room now was still quite risky, but the impatience and anxiety this caused Danielle pushed her to go through with it anyway.

Danielle looked at the past calls in the call log. She found a different number; one dated around the time Danielle first caught Lucas speaking in German to somebody.

Biting her lip, Danielle called the number back. It rang for a few short moments.

“Ja, Lucas?” a familiar voice answered. “Was hast du zu berichten?”

Danielle's heart raced, certain she'd gotten the right number this time. “K-Katja?!”

“Entschuldigen sie? Wer is das?”

“Katja; it's Danielle – you know I do not speak German – where _are_ you? What is going on?”

A strange pause followed.

“You are _Danielle?_ ” the voice spoke in English now. “Not Danielle Fournier, surely...”

Now though, Danielle was really confused. The voice sounded like Katja's, until it spoke in English – but the accent was too perfect. Katja's accent was very distinctly German.

“Where is Lucas?” the woman demanded when Danielle remained silent. “Put him on the call, please. Tell him Rachel Duncan wishes to speak with him immediately.”

“ _Oh..._ ” Danielle gasped to herself. Rachel Duncan. _Rachel Duncan._ Danielle _knew_ that name. “You...you are Rachel Duncan...”

“Indeed...so I take it you have been deceiving us, Miss Fournier...it had come to our attention that you had passed. Lucas was aware that were alive the whole time?”

“I-I…” Danielle squeaked, unsure what she should do.

Rachel Duncan was the head of _DYAD_. Had Danielle just accidentally given their position away? Was this call being tracked as they spoke? Danielle snapped the phone shut in panic and stared down at it with wide eyes. Why was Lucas in contact with _Rachel Duncan_?

It only took a moment for the device to buzz to life again. Inwardly, Danielle knew how stupid it would be to answer it, but she wanted to know why Lucas was in contact with Rachel.

“Hanging up on _me_ is not advised, _peasant,_ ” Rachel said firmly.

Danielle narrowed her eyes even though Rachel couldn’t see her, feeling rather insulted at being called a peasant. “Why is Lucas in contact wiz _you?_ ” Danielle demanded, moving as far away from the door as possible to make sure no one overheard her.

“That is not your concern,” Rachel told her. “I _insist_ you put Lucas on the phone this instant.”

“Why? ‘ave you been faking being Leigh to ‘im, like you ‘ave been faking being Leigh to Aila?” Danielle asked, trying to get something out of Rachel.

“Faking being Leigh?” Rachel asked slowly. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I am talking about,” Danielle hissed, even though the confusion in Rachel’s voice sounded oddly genuine.

“I’m afraid I do not,” Rachel drawled. “Now put Lucas on the phone.”

Danielle considered her present options. Should she confront Lucas in private about this? Or throw him in at the deep end? After mulling it over for a moment, Danielle decided that this was far too big to keep from Rat. If Lucas was in contact with Rachel, that meant Lucas was a danger to them both.

Danielle walked back to the common room, and put the phone on loudspeaker as she approached the table. Rat and Lucas stared at her, both slightly taken aback by her sudden reappearance.

“Lucas is here,” Danielle said into the phone, holding it in the middle of the table.

“You disappoint me, Lucas,” Rachel said threateningly.

The German man paled considerably. Rat’s eyebrows shot up in stunned shock, and she dropped her fork onto her plate. The voice was unmistakably a clone voice, but there was only one clone Rat knew of who sounded like a robot when speaking.

“What the...?! Is that _RACHEL?!_ ” the hacker gasped, looking between Danielle and Lucas wildly for some sort of explanation.

Lucas struggled to find his voice. He was absolutely horrified that Danielle had gone and taken a call with _Rachel_ of all people. He snatched the phone away from Danielle and ended the call quickly. He knew that hanging up on Rachel was a terrible idea, but he currently had bigger things to worry about.

“I zink you ‘ave explaining to do now,” Danielle hissed at him.

Lucas bowed his head, knowing that he had no choice but to come clean now. “I-I will tell you boz everyzing…” he said. He could lie and say that Rachel was in his contacts because he technically did still work for DYAD, but he didn’t want to keep so many secrets from the clones anymore.

“You’d _better_ explain!” Rat snapped, panic bleeding into anger, as it often did. “Does Rachel _know_ that we’re here?! Does she know that you’re travelling with us?!”

Lucas flinched, before sighing. “It started just after vee rescued Aila…DYAD reviewed zee security footage and saw zat I had helped Leigh to free Aila. Sometime later, zey started following me around vizout my knowledge, and discovered zat I vas helping you all,” he began quietly. “Dr. Leekie, he called me into his office not long after, just a few days after Aila vas taken avay by zee bounty hunters…he vanted to make a deal. I had unknowingly led him right to Eliza’s house…he said zat if I did not take zee deal, zen he vould put _you_ in prison as vell. Zat vould have made everyzing vee did be for nozing.”

“And what exactly was this deal?!” Rat demanded.

“Dr. Leekie vanted me to become monitor to von of his lost clones,” Lucas admitted.

The room fell silent.

A cold understanding washed over Rat. Leigh was dead. DYAD thought Danielle was dead, Aila was in prison, and Katja was missing...

“You’ve been monitoring _me,_ ” Rat whispered, covering her mouth. She visibly trembled at the stunning revelation. Horror, shock, and anger all melded together into a sickening new emotion as she tried to process what she was hearing.

“Ja…” Lucas said quietly, closing his eyes tightly. “I am _so_ sorry, Regina. I vas trying to keep you _safe!_ ”

Lucas's phone rang. Lucas flinched to see it was Rachel's number again, but everyone ignored it for now. Lucas leaned closer to Rat, looking desperate.

“Please-”

“ _Don't,_ ” Rat seethed, holding her hand up. She shot up from the table, almost knocking her chair over. “I can't listen to this...I can't listen to this...”

Rat marched out of the door and left the building without even taking her jacket, leaving Danielle and Lucas to deal with the ringing phone.


End file.
